Pokemon Next
by Kouji Tamino
Summary: 5 years have passed since the Johto League... Ash returns after a long absence with mysterious scars. Ash must confront his greatest enemy ever in the Pokemon League, while Misty tries to find out the truth... Revision planned in future.
1. Long Goodbyes and Quick Hellos!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. I am just a guy writing stories about a show he likes and I am in no way making profits off of the property of Satoshi Tapir, Nintendo, Game Freaks, TV Tokyo, 4Kids, Wizards of the Coast… Um, well… You get the picture!

Hello! I am Kouji Tamino, writer of works such as Hinata Star, Great Teacher Ericks, and co-author of CrossFire, a Trigun continuation. I know that I am not the best, so deal with me. Reviews are not required, but I would appreciate if you would drop a line after reading this. Note that I am writing this as if Ash was 13 at the end of Johto, so make a note of that as you read. Also, May and Max won't have big parts in here. It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I haven't seen enough of them. Plus, the story will get hectic with so many chapters. Anyway, now that that is out of the way, on with the story!

~~~

Shortly after the Johto League…

Ash sighed as he looked upon the stadium that the Johto League competition took place in. He had lost yet another big Pokemon League. He thought about how long it had taken him to get through the Johto region and all the things he did. He smiled though, as he realized what he had accomplished. He had caught several new Pokemon, gained more experience, and finally made a friend in Gary, who had given up on being a Poke Trainer, thus ending their rivalry. Pikachu, who was by his side, sighed a sad "Pika".

Misty and Brock looked watched their friend from a far. They knew that Ash was a bit distraught by his loss, and they wondered what his reaction would be when they told him that they would be leaving him soon. Misty was being forced to return to the gym while her sisters were on a world tour, and Brock was going to check up on his gym. They sighed, and decided they would break it to him later.

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: Long Goodbyes, and Quick Hellos!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

"Wah?! You're leaving me?!" Ash yelled in disbelief. He plopped into his seat at the Pokemon Center. He closed his eyes. "How could you do this to me?…"

Misty looked at Ash sadly, then glared. "I'm sorry, but I have to look after the gym! It's called responsibility! You should learn the word!"

Brock cracked his neck. "Yeah, and I have to check up on the gym, I haven't seen my family in years… You are being a bit selfish, Ash. We have our own lives too, you know!" 

Misty frowned at Ash. "You can't expect us to follow you forever…"

Misty and Brock wanted to reconsider what they said as they saw tears fall from Ash's eyes. "Ash…" 

Ash looked up. "No… You're right… I'm being very selfish…" He then smiled. "Besides…"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Besides, what?…"

"I was thinking… I've really been slacking off lately."

Brock waved his hand in front of Ash's face. "Um… You feeling okay?…"

"No, really! My Pokemon are all uneven in strength, I have less than 100 Pokemon, and my skills are a bit sloppy. That's why I am going into intense training for 5 years, then re-entering the Indigo League!"

Brock smiled. "Wow, you're really serious about this, aren't you?…"

"Yep!"

Misty stuck her tongue out. "Good, then you don't need us to get in your way!"

"Wait… Before you guys go, I have something to give you…"

"Hm?" Misty started. "What is it?…"

Ash looked through his backpack, then brought out a pair of pink rubber gloves. "Here, Brock… For washing dishes. I originally used them to keep Pikachu from shocking me, but I won't need them anymore…" 

Brock stared at the gloves. "Um… Heh heh… Thanks…"

Ash then took off his cap. "Misty… I want you to take care of this for me…"

"But…" Misty began. "Ash… This is your favorite hat…"

Ash smiled. "Yep! The one I sent 'a million postcards' in for…"

"I can't take this…"

"Take it. I want you to have it."

"Thank you, Ash…"

~~~

Our heroes then ended up at a fork in the road. Brock adjusted his backpack. "Well, I guess this is where we go our separate ways…"

Ash sighed. "Yep… It's been fun traveling with you guys… If it wasn't for you, I'd be lost…"

Misty playfully ruffled Ash's hair. "In more ways than one, ya big dope!"

Ash laughed. "Hey…"

"Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone now… I'll seeya when I seeya!" Brock then walked down the road, as Ash and Misty watched their friend walk off. 

Ash and Misty looked at each other for a moment. Misty then looked through her pocket. "Ash, I--"

"Wwwwaaaaait!!!" Brock said, running back up the road. "I forgot! Ash, here are some forks and spoons for eating, bye!!" Brock then ran off after giving the utensils to Ash. 

"Um… Anyway…" Misty began again. "Ash, I have something for you…" she produced a small handkerchief. "Here…" Misty said, giving it to Ash. "…Bye!" Misty then ran down the road. 

Ash then reached out. "Wait… Please… Wait…" Ash then fell down to his knees and began to cry. Suddenly, a net fell on top of him and Pikachu. "Hey!" Ash screamed, as he and Pikachu tried to fight his way out. 

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

Ash smacked his head. "Oh no…" He looked as Team Rocket appeared before him and Pikachu. They continued the motto.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of Truth and Love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James…"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wooooobufet!"

"Not now! I don't have time for this!"

Jessie snorted. "Not our problem…"

"… Why do you do this?…"

"What?…" James began.

"You guys could be good guys! You've helped out before!"

Jessie glared. "Yes, but only if it benefited us! Besides, we love being bad!"

"But you're bad at being bad!"

Meowth blinked. "What are you trying to say?…"

"That you could do something good with your life!"

James scratched the top of his head. "Y'know, the twerp has a point…"

Jessie growled. "But then what?! No one would want to be our friends! At least in a gang like the old bike gang or Team Rocket, you belong somewhere!" 

"… I'd be your friend." Ash said sincerely.

"…Do you really mean it?…"

"Yep!"

"… Thanks, but no thanks!"

"Oh well…" Ash said, as he lifted the net over his head.

"Eh?!" Team Rocket said, surprised.

"Thanks for giving me the time to get out! Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Pikachu smiled mischievously as he readied his electric attack. "Piiiiiikaaaaachuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"

Team Rocket was sent flying into the air. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" This time, however, they fell right at Ash's feet.

Ash looked down at Team Rocket. "Y'know, my offer stills stands… I really did mean it…" He then looked to his best friend, Pokemon wise. "Ya ready, Pikachu?!"

Pikachu looked up at his master and friend. "Pika!"

Ash then laughed. "Well, let's go!" Ash and Pikachu then ran down the road to Pallet, where he would pick up the first set of Pokemon he would train and begin his new adventure… 

~~~

And so, 5 years passed…

~~~

It was a rainy, cold day. Trainers began to gather at the Pokemon League Headquarters. Pedestrians walked the streets, and the future audience began to fill the seats of the stadium. Cars began to pull up. 

A white car pulled up to the Pokemon League HQ. Professor Oak stepped out of the car. While he looked pretty much the same, his hair was lighter, and he was using a cane. Tracey and Gary helped him get out. He brushed them away gently. "Let me go! I may be old, but I'm not helpless!" He then looked at the sky. "Darn, I wish I had brought an umbrella…"

Tracey laughed as he brought one out from the car. "Always be prepared!" he said as he opened it. He looked pretty much the same, just taller, wearing a lab coat and no longer wearing his headband. 

Gary closed the door. "So, are we the first in our merry little group?…" He also looked the same, taller with a lab coat, but he had cut the back of his hair short. He looked around, then asked, "Hey… Where's Mrs. Ketchum?… You'd think she'd be here first…" 

Tracey glared at Gary. "She was in the car with us, remember?… You closed it on her…" 

Gary shook his head as he opened the back door. "Sorry…"

Delia Ketchum stepped out of the car, her Mr. Mime named Mimie following shortly after. "It's quite alright… We all make mistakes!" She looked slightly older, but she had cut her hair very short, giving her a bit of a young look. She was wearing a pink, sleeveless dress with a long skirt. She smiled. "I can't wait to see my boy!" 

Gary frowned. "Yeah, really… The guy just took off after the Johto League!"

Tracey raised an eyebrow. "So no one's seen him in 5 years?!"

Professor Oak nodded. "That's correct… In fact, the only way we knew he was even alive was when he transported Pokemon by PC!"

"Odd… Doesn't seem like Ash…"

"I agree…" a gruff voice said. Everyone looked to see Brock. He was wearing a dark green suit. His hair had been cut on the sides, giving it a more spiky look. He smiled. "Hey, guys… It's been a while…"

"Hey, Brock!"

"Hello there, Brock!"

"Hi, Brock!"

"Yo…"

"Mime!"

Brock laughed. "Hello to you too, Mimie. You're looking pretty healthy!"

"I know!" Tracey said. "Glad I'm not the only one who realized! I gotta make a sketch of this!" Tracey did just that. He then showed it to the Mr. Mime. 

"Mime!"

"Heh, so you like it, huh?"

~~~

A few hours passed, and they all waited. Gary looked at his watch. "Where the hell is he?! Is he even coming?!"

"He'll be here…" said a soft voice. "I know it…"

Everyone looked toward the voice. It was Misty. "Hi!" she waved. She had become much more feminine looking. Her hair had grown all the way down her back. She was wearing a blue dress with long arms and a short skirt. She smiled. "If I know Ash, he will be here… Just trust in him… He may be an idiot, but he's a determined idiot…"

"Thanks Misty, I'm touched…" said a somewhat deep, but scratchy voice. (Er… Think Trunks in the DBZ dub…) 

Once again, everyone turned. Standing there was a young man with blue jeans, a black, sleeveless shirt, and a hooded cape. The cape was shadowing his face. He had scars on his lefts arm. He smiled. "Hey, guys!"

Everyone stared at the stranger. "Um… Who are you?…"

"That hurts…", the man said sarcastically. "You really don't know who I am?…"

Everyone shook their heads.

The young man sighed. "Oh! I know! It must be this hood and my voice!" The young man removed his mask to reveal--

"Ash?…" Misty began. "Is that really you?…"

Ash smiled at the group. His face looked tired, weary and dirty but he still had that goofy, innocent smile on his face. However, he had a scar in the shape of a slash on his cheek, and another scar over his nose. There were also the aforementioned scars on his arm. Also, his hair had grown into a long ponytail, with spiky bangs in the front, a bit more on the left side of his face. Misty and Delia ran over to him. 

"Oh my little boy! Are you okay?! What happened to your face and arm?!"

"Ash, are you alright?!"

Ash laughed. "I'm alright! It's just a few scratches…"

"Good!" They both said at the same time. Ash was then slapped and pounded on the head. 

"Ow!!" Ash grabbed his head and touched his cheek. 

Delia glared at Ash. "How could you leave for 5 years and not even contact us?!"

Misty growled. "Yeah! You had us all worried! And then you finally come back after all these years and you're all banged up!!" 

Ash put a hand behind his head and smiled. "I'm sorry… But when I said intense training, I really meant it… Not only training my Pokemon, but myself…"

Gary paid Professor Oak $10. "And don't say 'I told you so'…" he said, growling. 

Professor Oak laughed out loud. He then walked up to Ash. "It's been a while, Ash… What have you been up to?…"

"Well, like I said… I went through some really tough training. I've caught 100 different Pokemon in these years." 

"Ah, I see… You seem to have gotten… Taller!"

Ash blinked and looked around. He was now taller than Misty, his mother, and Professor Oak. He was as tall as Gary, and a little below Brock and Gary. He smiled. "Wow, I guess you're right! Awesome!"

Everyone sweat dropped. "Still the same Ash…" Brock laughed. 

Ash then walked to the building. "I'm gonna go sign up, okay?… I'll meet you guys later!" He then waved to them and ran into the building. 

~~~

Meanwhile, as people were signing up, a man in a brown suit signed up. He was followed by a Persian. The man was Giovanni, gym leader of the Viridian Gym and leader of Team Rocket… The man smiled. "The next few days look to be very good…" He then lightly chuckled as he walked down the halls. 

__

Narrator: And a new adventure awaits our heroes after 5 long years of separation! But what new dangers await them?! Find out next time!

**__**

To Be Continued… 

~~~

And the first chapter is complete! I go sleepy now… *snore*


	2. A Date or Not!

Disclaimer: Read chapter 1.

Alright, after a bit of an absence, I am back. This would have been up sooner, but there was Thanksgiving, and a few other things. I want to try and get chapters up sooner, especially since I have no reason to be delayed as these chapters are short compared to longer fics, and they only take about a few hours to write. Anyway, hello again and on with the story!

~~~

After signing up, Ash joined up with the others, who were getting rooms. He waved to the others. "Hey, guys! I got signed up, what going on?"

Delia looked to Ash. "Ash… Where is Pikachu?…"

"Pikachu?" Ash said, looking confused. "Oh… He wasn't part of the current training schedule."

Gary raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't have Pikachu with you?…"

Ash laughed. "Yeah… Believe it or not, I actually barely used Pikachu during my training, as I needed to even out all of my Pokemon. At this point, my Pokemon are all at level 50!" He blinked. "Anyway, after I get a room, I'm going to put my team together." 

Brock smirked. "Leave that to me. I already got the rooms set up!" He looked to the group. "I got Mrs. Ketchum in a two bedder, me, Gary and Tracy in a room with a bunk bed and a regular, and Ash and Misty in a two bedder!" Brock then grinned mischievously. 

Ash and Misty twitched. "Brock?…" Misty began.

Brock gave a smile to the red head. "Yes, Misty?…" 

"… Did I hear you right?…"

"Why yes you did!"

Misty gave a deep sigh. "C'mon, Ash…" She said, taking the keys to the room from Brock and dragging Ash there by the ear. 

"Ow! Hey, Misty! Stop!" Ash groaned. "What the hell did I do?!"

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: A Date, or Not?!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

Misty plopped onto the bed of her, no correction, her and Ash's room. While she had no problem with it, Brock doing that without her or Ash's consent ticked her off a bit. In the past five years, Misty had calmed down quite a bit. Togepi had evolved into a Togetic and left her, but life moved on and she got over it. She still missed her 'baby', though. 

Ash rubbed his still sore ear, and glared at Misty's lying form. '_What the hell is her problem?'_ Ash thought to himself. He looked at her, smiling. '_She sure has become beautiful, though…'_ He looked to his scarred arm and felt his face, a cruel reminder of the past 5 years. _I wonder what she thinks of me with these… scars… 'She probably thinks I'm the ugliest person ever'…_He looked at his arm again. _ 'Why didn't I listen to the old man?…' _

"Did it hurt?…" Misty asked. 

"Huh?…" Ash raised an eyebrow, looking to the young woman. 

"Those scars on your body…" Misty sat up. 

"… Maybe…"

"How did you get them?…"

Ash looked away from Misty. "I can't tell you…"

Misty stood up and walked to Ash. "Why not?…"

"… I just can't, okay…"

"Ash…" Misty started, getting closer to Ash. 

Ash turned to Misty, screaming at her. "Just leave me alone, you stupid girl!!"

Misty growled at Ash, then punched him in the face.. "Jerk! I was just trying to help you!!" 

Ash grabbed his nose. "Ow! That hurt!" He then began to get tears in his eyes. He quickly wiped his eyes. 

Misty laughed. "Oh wow…"

Ash glared at Misty. "What's so funny?…"

Misty tried to stop laughing, then giggled. "Things haven't changed a bit, have they?… We're still fighting like children…"

Ash looked at Misty, then smiled. "You're right… I'm… I'm sorry for yelling at you, I guess…"

Misty then gave Ash a death glare, then raised her fist. "You guess?! You little twerp! Why I oughta--"

Ash flinched. "Wah, don't hit me again, Misty!!"

Misty then giggled again. "You silly boy, you're taller and bigger than me…"

Ash then gave Misty an evil smile. "You're right… I'm gonna get you!" He then chased Misty around the small room. She ran from him for a few seconds, then turned around and stopped. Ash couldn't stop in time and they both fell to the ground. 

Suddenly, Brock opened the door. "Hey guys, I--" he then looked to the floor to see Ash lying on top of Misty. "Well geez, you lovebirds sure didn't take long!" Brock smirked. 

Ash glared. "It's not what you think!!"

Misty growled. "And don't you know how to knock?!"

"Besides, why would I go out with an ugly girl like her!!"

"And why would I even think of dating a guy as immature, bratty, and rude as him!!" 

Brock waved his hands in front of himself. "Whoa, calm down guys! Besides, I didn't originally come here to make fun of you… I was just going food shopping, is there anything you guys want?"

Ash blinked. "Um, some Pocky would be nice… And maybe some Pokemon food for Pikachu? I'm gonna pick him up later."

Misty sighed. "Um, no thanks…"

Brock laughed. "Alright, seeya later you two!" Brock then closed the door. 

Ash and Misty looked at each other. Misty looked at Ash. Despite his scars, he still had that innocent, naïve look, with only hints of maturity. She slowly became lost in his deep brown eyes. 

Ash also looked at Misty. He looked into her blue eyes. '_She really is beautiful_ he thought. _I don't deserve anything that beautiful. Not after the way I've treated her… And especially not after what I did a year ago…' _

Misty groaned. "Ash… Could you please get off of me?… You're heavy…"

Ash blushed. "Then could you let go of my arm?…"

Misty laughed, blushing. She then let go of Ash, and he got up. She followed. "So, now what do we do?…" She asked, rubbing her shoulders. 

Ash smiled. "Well, I was going to set up the team I'm going to use, which includes Pikachu. Want to come along? Pikachu would love to see you again."

Misty smiled back. "Alright."

Suddenly, they heard a loud growling sound. Misty looked around. "What was that?!"

Ash blushed. "That would be my stomach… I'm starving! I haven't eaten since lunch!"

"Still the same old Ash…" Misty giggled. 

"I'm going to take a shower, get changed, then go get something to eat before picking up my Pokemon… Want to join me?"

"What?!" Misty yelled.

"For dinner, I mean!!! Don't hurt me!!"

"Oh… Should have known… Sorry. Yes, I that would be nice…"

"Good! Meet you at around 5:00!" Ash then ran out of the room. 

Misty giggled again. "That's Ash for you, always up and about…"

~~~

Meanwhile, Brock was walking through a Pokemon Breeding Shop. "Okay, let's see…" He was picking out some ingredient's for Pokemon food. Also, there was a new book on breeding that he wanted to check out. He was looking at the shelves, minding his own business, when his cart crashed into someone else's. He looked at who he had crashed into and almost melted. Standing there was a woman in her mid-20's, with long, dark pink hair, and green eyes. She was wearing a light pink shirt and jeans and pink shoes. He went into lovesick mode. "Oh, miss! I am so sorry for that. It was completely my fault!"

The woman smiled at Brock. "Oh, that's quite alright… So, are you a Pokemon breeder too?"

Brock nodded. "Yes, Pokemon breeding is my life! I hope to one day be the World's Best Pokemon Breeder! I even make my own food and everything!" 

"That's wonderful! By the way, my name is Liz Mulberry, what's yours?…"

"My name is Brock Slate! It is absolutely a pleasure to meet you! Say, would you like to join me for a cup of coffee to discuss breeding, say, tomorrow?"

Liz smiled. "I would love to… See you tomorrow at the Indigo Café, then?"

"Yep! It's a date! See you tomorrow!" 

Liz then walked off with her cart. When she was gone, Brock jumped into the air. "Yaaahooo!!! Brock, you finally did it!" Brock then began to dance. "Go Brock, it's your birthday!! Get down with ya bad self!" Brock continued to dance until he realized that he was being stared at by others. He then coughed. "Um, good day…" He then quickly scooped up what he needed into the cart, and ran out of the aisle. 

~~~

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Gary and Tracey were arguing on who got the top bunk. 

Gary crossed his arms. "Look, I'll get a nose bleed if I sit up too high. You get the top bunk, I get the bottom."

Tracey stomped his foot. "Well, I prefer not sleeping in the air!"

"You afraid of heights?…"

"Er, a bit…"

"Ha! Well, I don't want to bleed to death in my sleep! You get top!"

"Bottom!"

"Top!"

"Bottom!"

"You're gonna be on top!"

Suddenly, a wise guy walking through the hallway made a snide remark. "Shut up, you fags!"

Gary opened the door. "Mind your own damn business!!!" he yelled to the guy. "Besides, we are talking about bunk beds!" 

The wise guy was a 12 year old with brown, spiky hair and red eyes, wearing a plain red cap, a white t-shirt, and blues shorts. "Yeah, that's what they all say…"

Gary growled. "You brat! Respect you elders!! Besides, just because you're younger than me doesn't mean I'm not gonna kick your ass if you don't shut up!"

Tracey then walked out of the room. "Yeah, and besides… Even if we were gay, which we are not, that doesn't give you the right to make narrow-minded comments like that. It just makes you look like a jerk and no one will want to be your friend."

The brat sniffled. "Hey, that's not true… I have friends…"

Gary smirked. "I doubt that… If I was the way I was a few years ago, even I wouldn't want to be your friend…"

The brat began to cry. "You guys are mean…"

Tracey frowned. "Well, you started it… If you were nicer, more people would want to be your friend…"

"… You mean it?…"

Tracey smiled. "Yep…"

The brat then sniffled again. "Okay… Sorry…" he then ran off. 

"Well that's that…" Tracey said, closing the door. 

Gary stared at Tracey. "…"

Tracey raised an eyebrow. "What?…"

"Weenie…"

"I am not a weenie!"

~~~

Ash ran down to the lobby. He was wearing black pants, and a white short sleeve button up shirt, which revealed his black t-shirt underneath. He was also wearing some black sneakers. Misty walked into the lobby. She looked at Ash and laughed. "What's up with all the black, anyway? Trying to be tough?" she taunted, sticking out her tongue. 

Ash glared. "Shut up…"

Misty pouted playfully. "Is that anyway to talk to a lady?"

"What lady?…" Ash laughed. He was then hit in the head with a giant mallet. "Ow! Where did that old thing come from?!"

Misty gave an evil smile. "Found it in my backpack, and it's gonna get a lot more use if you pull that crap again!" 

"Alright, alright!… So, where should we go eat?…"

"Anywhere, as long as it's nice… No burgers!"

"You're acting as if this was a date!"

"Well, excuse me for wanting to eat somewhere nice for once!"

"… Alright, fine. You win!"

~~~

They finally decided on a casual, but somewhat nice restaurant. They sat at their seats. Ash began cracking his fingers and neck. Misty glared. "Stop doing that!"

… Ash popped his neck. "Stop doing what?…" He leaned back and popped his back. 

"That!!! That cracking thing!"

"Why?…"

"It is rude, and embarrassing to do in public! Stop it now!!"

Ash sighed and replied sarcastically. "Yes, _mother_…"

"Ash, grow up! Why do you act so immature?!"

"Well, sorry that I can't act like those 'anime guys'…"

"… Ash, that's not the point… We're not kids anymore… You can't go on acting like this…"

Ash stared at Misty. 

"Ash… What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking of how beautiful you've become…"

Misty blushed, then smiled. "Ash, thank y--"

"I mean, remember how scrawny and tomboy-ish you used to be!" Ash interrupted. He then began laughing. 

Misty's smile then turned into a 'I am going to kill you' look. "Ash, you--!!!" She then slapped him on the face. "You insensitive prick!!! When I first saw you today, I thought you had changed!!! But now I see that you are still the same stupid, ditzy, immature, rude, bratty selfish little boy I met 8 years ago! Goodbye, Ash Ketchum!! I hope you lose the Pokemon League again!" Misty then stood up and stomped off. 

Ash simply sat there. He then looked at the table. "Well Ash, you really screwed up this time… Why can't I just keep my damn mouth shut?…" He then sat up, and went to go find Misty. 

~~~

Misty ran down the street, crying. She heard someone call her name. She turned to see Ash, who was catching up to her. 

"Misty!" Ash yelled, running up to Misty. "Hey! Wait up!"

Misty growled. "Die and go to Hell, you bastard!" She then brought her mallet out of nowhere and smacked Ash into the air. 

"Gwah!" Ash screamed. His eyes widened as he was falling back down to the ground. Misty was standing there, getting ready to smack him with the mallet again. She winded up, and gave him another smack, and he went sailing across the area, finally hitting a brick wall. "Oww…"

Misty panted heavily, putting her mallet away. She walked over to Ash's fallen form. Ash then jumped up. "Misty, don't kill me!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because I am sorry!! … Misty, you are one of my best friends… I am so sorry… I'd never hurt you on purpose. I'm so stupid… You probably think that I'm the worst guy ever…"

"Ash…" Misty began. "I'm sorry, too… I shouldn't have called you those names…"

"I deserved it, though…"

"Ash…"

Ash looked to Misty. "Misty… I think I love you…"

"You do?…"

"Yes…"

Misty smiled. "Ash, I think I love you, too…"

"Why would you love someone like me?"

"Because… Deep inside, you are a very intelligent, very caring person…"

"And you are the most kind, beautiful girl I know…"

The two hugged.

"Ash… Please tell me where you got those scars…"

"Misty… I can't…"

"Ash, I have to know… I want to help you…"

"You… You won't like it…"

"I don't care…" Misty hugged Ash again.

Ash sighed, "You might want to sit down…"

Misty then let go of Ash and sat on a nearby bench. 

Ash sat next to her. "Well, it all started 3 years ago…"

_Narrator:_ Now, we travel back in time, to see what happened to Ash, and what he has been hiding from everyone. What will we see? Find out next time!

**To Be Continued…**

~~~

That is the end of this chapter. I hope to get the next chapter up tomorrow. I don't know whether it will be from Ash's point of view or if I will write it in third person as if it was part of the story. Oh well, I'll figure something out. Well, until tomorrow!


	3. Scyther's Anger, Team Rocket's Judgment

Disclaimer: Read chapter 1!

And we are here at chapter 3. Sorry I didn't write yesterday, wasn't in the mood, and I was forced to go to the movies… =P I had fun, though. No more promises on when I will write again, though. It'll be up when it's up. Now, on with the story! 

~~~

Ash and Pikachu were traveling through the snow. Ash was wearing nothing but the clothes on his back. It was his usual outfit, minus the hat, although he was beginning to outgrow it. He was currently training his current Pokemon team in endurance in different types of weather. The surrounding trees were leafless, and covered in the snow. Ash had been training for the League for about 3 years. He shivered. Suddenly, he saw something in the snow moving. It was a bit hard to see, so he and Pikachu ran over to it. 

It was a white Scyther. Ash's eyes widened. "Wow, it's a Scyther! But what why is it white?… Maybe it lives here, and it adapted?…" He frowned as he saw a trap on the Scyther's leg. It looked like it had punctured the Pokemon's hard exoskeleton somehow. 

The Scyther glared at Ash. "Scyther…" it moaned. 

Ash tugged at the trap. It wouldn't come lose. He looked around, and found a huge metal pole. He picked it up. "Don't worry, Scyther! I'll get you out of that trap!" He managed to wedge the pole between the trap's teeth. He pushed and pushed. The Scyther screamed in pain. Ash grunted. "Just a little… more…" Ash finally got the trap off, but blood from the Scyther spurted from the Pokemon's leg, hitting Ash in the face. Ash looked in horror at what had happened. He looked at the Scyther, who was staring at Ash in extreme anger. Ash touched his face, then looked at his hand. It was covered in red blood. Ash's eyes widened again as he remembered what happened to Scyther's when they see red. "Oh, shit…" Scyther lunged at Ash, scythe arms raised. 

~~~

*silence*

Scyther's Anger and the Judgment of Team Rocket.

~~~

Ash hit a tree, then grabbed his cut and bleeding arm. He reached for his Pokeball belt, but realized that it had been cut off. He looked for Pikachu, who had been hit by the Scyther when trying to protect Ash. He looked to the left to see Pikachu lying in the snow, which had a small red spot forming in it. He dodged Scyther's next attack, but was slashed in the back by Scyther, leaving an 'X' shaped wound on his back. "Gyaaah!!" Ash screamed, falling to the ground. He quickly turned around to get slashed in the arm by Scyther again. He cried out, then reached into his backpack for anything to protect himself. He produced an object, then held it out in front of him. 

Scyther, blind in rage, slashed at the object. It was hit in the eyes with a red liquid. It screamed out in madness, as the only thing it could see was red. It blindly cut Ash across the face twice, leaving cuts in Ash's cheek and over his nose. "Gyah!" Ash yelled out, holding his face in pain. 

A few feet away, Pikachu slowly stood up. He glared in hatred at the Scyther that was hurting his friend. The clear sky began to slowly turn gray with the forming clouds. _'How dare he hurt my Pikapi…'_ Pikachu thought in anger. Thunder was heard. _'He will pay…'_ Pikachu screamed out as lightning flashed in several places in the sky. 

Ash slowly got back up and reached for his Pokeball's as Scyther looked at the sky, confused. Ash looked to see Pikachu, standing in one spot looking very ticked off. His eyes widened as he yelled out. "Pika--Pikachu, stop!!"

But it was too late. Pikachu screamed out again, as about 100 stray lightning bolts all hit the white Scyther. All Ash could do was run, until he tripped on a hidden tree trunk, fell to the ground, and went unconscious. 

~~~

A few hours later, Ash awoke to a terrible sight. All the snow in the area had been melted. Ash was currently lying in a puddle of water. The trees were completely burnt to a crisp. It was a wonder Ash and his Pokemon hadn't been burnt up, too. He looked for Pikachu and the Scyther. He walked back to the spot where this had all started, and saw something that almost made him vomit. 

Lying on the ground, was the white Scyther. It's exoskeleton was completely burnt, and was about to crumble. It's insides had been completely fried. It's eyes looked like big, black raisins or prunes. He looked for Pikachu, who was simply standing there, battered and looking like he was about to cry. It sadly looked to Ash with tears in his eyes. "Pika…pi… Pika…"

"Oh my god…" Ash began. He ran over to Pikachu, picked him up and hugged him. The Pokemon began to cry. "Pikachu… It's okay… You didn't mean to do it! It's… It's going to be okay!" Ash tried to comfort the Pokemon, holding it tight. Pikachu continued to cry until it fell asleep. Ash looked at the Pokemon sadly. "Sleep well, my little Pikachu…" He closed his eyes. "And rest in peace, white Scyther…" He frowned. "What… what the hell was that, though?…" Ash's Pokedex fell out of his pocket. It opened and began to speak. 

"Final Judgment… Pikachu's strongest attack. When a Pikachu reaches level 100 and doesn't evolve, it will become stressed foe a short time. If during this time it become angered, it will learn an attack that summons a deadly storm. Avoid using at all costs…" 

Ash looked off into the distance. "Final Judgment, huh?… Well, that's just great…" Ash then walked off to the next town, to get him and Pikachu medical attention. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And so", Ash began. "I stopped using Pikachu, and I went back to my training as if nothing had happened…" Ash looked to the ground, then looked back to Misty. "But it did happen, Misty! We killed a Pokemon!" Ash began to cry. 

Misty put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Oh, Ash… Don't blame yourself, or Pikachu… It could have happened to anyone…"

"… But…"

"But nothing! You can't beat yourself up over an accident! Sure, it was horrible what happened, but you or Pikachu didn't do it on purpose!"

"… Oh, Mist… What am I going to do?…"

"How about this… We go pick up your Pokemon, then we think this over…"

"… Alright…"

~~~

Meanwhile, Brock was getting back to the hotel at around the same time that Ash, Misty, and Pikachu were getting back. "Oh, hey guys! Hey, Pikachu!" Brock smiled. He then looked at everyone's faces. "What's with the long faces?… Did something happen?…" 

Ash looked to Brock. "… It's a doozy of a story…"

"Ooh, can we hear it, too?" a voice said.

Ash glared. "Who's there?…"

"Prepare for the return of us!"

"We want to win your trust"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation…"

"To announce the **beauties** of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above…"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team J blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Please don't zap us, we don't want to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu sweat dropped. Ash stepped forward. "What do you want now?!"

Jessie laughed. "Relax, we don't want your Pikachu, twer--" She stared at the taller, more muscular, and older Ash. "Oh my… You're not much of a twerp, now…"

James blinked. "Wow, he's gotten… Bigger!"

Meowth jumped up and pointed. "Look at all dem scars! He must be tough, now!"

Jessie coughed. "Anyway, we come in peace… You see…"

James whimpered. "We were kicked out of Team Rocket!"

"When we lost track of you, we went back to stealing Pokemon… We were just getting back to becoming the great thieves we were back in the old days, but it was too late… The boss gained a hold on a Pokemon so powerful, he said he didn't nees us anymore. He fired about half of Team Rocket. W had no where else to go, so we came here to ask for your friendship…"

"Pretty please?!"

Ash looked at Jessie and James. They were wearing the same outfits, but they were now emblazoned with big red J's. He held back a snicker. "… Why should I trust you?…"

James whimpered again. "Because we have nowhere else to go, and we have no reason to betray you!"

Brock stepped forward. "But if we have your history correct, weren't you bad prior to Team Rocket?… The Bicycle Gang?"

"Well…" Jessie began. "Yes… But we truly do have no where else to go… The gang has disbanded, Team Rocket is no longer excepting members, and we have helped you out when it really counted…"

"…" Ash thought for a moment. "Well… Fine then… But if you even think of betraying us… I'll have Pikachu zap you… You haven' t been zapped by him in 5 years, and he's become much stronger… You got it?"

Team Ro--er, Team J nodded rapidly. "We got it, we got it!"

Ash smiled. "Good!"

Brock smirked. "Heh… This will be interesting…" He looked to Ash. "So, what was that about a story?…"

Ash's smile disappeared. "Um, I'll tell you later…"

Brock looked at Ash unsurely, then nodded. "Well, I have a story to tell you guys! I finally got a date!" 

Ash laughed. "Team Rocket good guys, and Brock got a date!"

Meowth snickered. "Hey, Hell just called… They said they need a heater!"

The group then laughed. Brock then frowned. "Oh great… Now I need to get rooms for Jessie, James, and Meowth!"

Jessie interrupted. "That won't be necessary… We will get our own room…"

"How?"

"We have money… Besides, at the previous Pokemon leagues, we always sold something… We'll just do that again for extra money."

~~~

Meanwhile, Giovanni was in his room, preparing. "Hmm… Let's see how my new Pokemon is doing…" He took out a black Pokeball and opened it. A flash of light lit up the room. When it settled, a tall, humanoid Pokemon stood there. It was Mewtwo, but there was something different about him. He had a strange device on his head. It was wrapped all the way around the top of his head. Giovanni smiled. "That mind control device works wonders, doesn't it, Mewtwo?… After years, you are finally mine… And I will use your power to win this competition effortlessly. Wearing these sunglasses, hat and cape, I have disguised myself as a man named 'Bell'… What do you think of that, Mewtwo?…"

"… Brilliant, master…" Mewtwo droned. "Together, we can show those foolish humans our true power…"

"That is right… Now, who do you work for?…"

"You, master…"

"And when referring to me as master during this competition, what will you call me?…"

"Master Bell…"

"But, when I tell you to call me by my real name, what will you call me?…"

"Master Giovanni…"

"… Perfect…"

~~~

And so, the next day arrived. Ash awoke and yawned. He looked to Misty's sleeping form and smiled. He then grinned evilly, and tiptoed over to her bed. He took a deep breath, then screamed into her ear. "Wake up, Misty!!" 

Misty woke up screaming. "Kyaaaaaah!!!" She looked around, wide eyed. "What the hell was that?!" 

Ash laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face!" he was then hit in the head with a chair. "Wah?!" He fell to the ground. "Ow…" He got up. "Did… Did you just throw a _chair_ at me?!" 

Misty sweat dropped. "Um… Sorry…" she tapped herself on the head. 

"… You're just as violent as ever!"

"Hee hee…"

"… Anyway, what have you been doing the past five years?…"

"Not much… I just wondered around a bit after my sister's came back and kicked me out…" Misty frowned. 

"Kicked you out?… Now that's not very nice…"

"Yeah, and after I watched over the gym and everything… They said I was a runt who would just get in the way… And they're probably right…"

Ash shook his head. "You are beautiful Misty, in your own way. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise!"

Misty smiled. "Thanks, Ash… You may be an impulsive idiot, but what you say is from the heart…"

Ash smiled back. "You really mean that?…"

Misty got closer to Ash's face. "Of course I do…"

Their faces became closer, their lips ready to touch, when suddenly…

"Hey guys, wanna go out for breakfast?!" Brock said, bursting into the room. 

Ash and Misty bumped heads. "… You really have to learn to lock that door, Mist…"

Misty rubbed her head. "I know…"

Brock smirked, then yelled into the hallway. "Hey, Ash and Misty were making out!!!" 

The others, including Team J, burst out of their rooms and ran to the room. Gary laughed. "Well, it's about frickin' time!!"

Jessie and James laughed also. "Yeah, tell us about it…"

Delia sniffled and blew her nose. "My little boy is growing up…"

Tracey snickered a bit, but controlled himself. "Okay guys, fun's over… Let's get ready to go to the restaurant…"

~~~

When they got to the restaurant, they all sat down and placed their orders. They all began to talk and made up for lost time. Jessie, James and Meowth smiled as they realized that they finally had real friends. 

Suddenly, someone screamed. The group looked to where the noise was coming from. A waitress was being harassed by 5 guys. They all were wearing green and red headbands and clothes. The leader was holding the waitress by her wrist. "C'mon, baby… How about we go ditch this place so we and my gang can have some 'fun' witcha?…"

The waitress tried to pull away, but couldn't. "No, please leave me alone!"

Ash began to get up from his seat, but Jessie and James quickly stopped him. They smirked, and Meowth said. "Relax, we'll handle dis!" They walked over to the gang, and James tapped the leader on the shoulder. 

The leader looked over. "What do you want?…"

James smirked and was holding a rose. "Excuse me, but the lady politely asked to leave her alone…"

"And what are you gonna do about it, flower boy?…"

Jessie walked up. "Pokemon Battle. Your gang against us."

Ash sweat dropped. "Um, do you think that's such a good idea?…"

Jessie looked back to Ash. "Relax, we have it covered…" She looked back to the gang. "So, what do you say?…"

The gang thought it over in a huddle, then looked back to Team J. "Alright, we except your challenge! On the exception that we each use 1 Pokemon!"

"Alright…"

The gang began to do poses while speaking. "Prepare to lose to the Green Bean team!" They all did the peace sign. "Ha!"

Everyone else in the restaurant sweat dropped. People began to gather to watch the battle. Suddenly, the manager walked out. "Um, could you please take this outside?…"

~~~

Once outside, the battle was set up. Brock stood on the sideline. "This is a Team Pokemon Battle! Each trainer will use 1 Pokemon! Let the battle start!"

"Arbok, go!"

"Weezing, go!"

"Charmeleon, go!"

"Raticate, go!"

"Machoke, go!"

The battle began. James yelled out a command. "Weezing, smokescreen!" The Pokemon then unleashed a black cloud of smoke. 

"Gah!" the leader of the Green Beans said. "Can't see!" 

"Arbok!" Jessie yelled. "Wrap on Machoke!" The snake wrapped around the bodybuilding Pokemon. It could not move. Arbok began to squeeze. 

"Ratcate, bite on that Arbok!" The Raticate then ran over to Arbok and bite it, freeing the Machoke. 

"Arbok, poison sting!" Arbok then shot poison darts at Raticate. The rat Pokemon was then poisoned. 

The leader recalled Raticate. "Dragonite, go!"

"Hey!" James said. "That's not fair! Sludge!" Weezing then shot sludge into Dragonite's eyes, temporarily blinding it. It walked around, not able to see where it was going. 

The leader growled. "Dragonite, turn a bit, the Hyper Beam!"

"Weezing, tackle! Hurry!" Weezing then hit Dragonite with a speeding tackle, sending it spinning. The dragon then accidentally unleashed it's Hyper Beam on the Green Bean team, sending them flying into the air. Team J laughed. "It's nice blasting someone else off for a change!"

Ash and the others cheered. "Wow, they actually did it… I had my doubts, but they actually did it…" Ash's stomach growled. "… I'm starving!" Everyone else laughed, and they went back into the restaurant. 

__

Narrator: And so, our heroes have added three new members to their team. Even though they saved the day this time, can Team Rocket, now Team J, be trusted? Will Ash and Pikachu ever get over what happened 3 years ago and learn to control 'Final Judgment'? Will they end up saving the world or destroying it? And what about Giovanni? Will he win the competition with Mewtwo under his control? And why has he entered the Pokemon League? Find out next time!

****

To Be Continued…

~~~

And another chapter is finished… Bye for now!


	4. A Day of Fun!

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah… 

Uh… Don't have much to say… =P Well, um…. Let's see… Nope, got nothing! ^_^ I'm gonna be sore in the morning… Darn hockey… But it was fun. ~.^

Anyway…. Before I scare myself anymore… On with the story!

~~~

And so, they ate. They ate and ate. Ash, as usual, ate the most. They were still in the restaurant. When everyone else was done, they watched as Ash continued to eat. He only stopped to feed Pikachu. Misty coughed. "So, Ash… What about you other Pokémon?…"

Ash finally looked up from his food. "Oh, don't worry… I fed them earlier!" He then went back to eating. 

Misty growled. "Grrr… You idiot! I mean, can we see them?!"

Ash looked up again. "Nuh-uh! ^_^/ Sorry, not until the competition!"

Misty put on a pouty face and clasped her hands together. "Pleeease?…"

Ash flinched. "Aww… c'mon, Misty… Not that face…"

Misty's eyes became bigger and glossier. "Pweeease?…"

"Gah! How can I say no to that face…" Ash sighed. "Alright, you can't see them right now… But, the Pokémon I will be using are Pikachu, of course, Charizard, Treecko, Noctowl, Kingler, and Ivysaur."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you have an Ivysaur? And what's a Treecko?"

Ash smirked. "Well, Bulbasaur finally evolved, and I caught a Treecko during a visit to the Hoen region!"

Misty tilted her head. "Oh… Silly me…"

Ash put down his plate. "Well, I'm done eating!" The group face faulted.

Brock sat up. "Well, I'm gonna go get ready to meet Liz at the coffee shop! Seeya, guys!" Brock then walked out. 

Ash laughed. "It's still hard to believe that Brock finally got a date!"

Misty laughed also. "Yeah, really… The poor guy was trying for who knows how long?… And I didn't make it any easier for him when I pulled him away from the girls!" 

Jessie, James and Meowth blinked and stared. Ash looked at them. "Yes?…"

"Oh, nothing…" Jessie began. 

James smirked. "We were just thinking about how cute a couple you two are…"

Both Ash and Misty blushed. "What do you mean?…"

Jessie smiled. "It's okay, you don't have to hide it… We've all sensed some sexual tension between you two…"

"What?!" Misty screamed. "But we were just kids!! Besides, why would I want to be with him?!" Misty whispered to Ash. "Sorry… Let's keep this a secret, okay?…" 

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: A Day of Fun!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

Meanwhile, Brock was out getting some flowers for Liz. He began to hum on his way to the flower shop. He smiled. "Brock, you finally did it…" He walked into the flower shop, and walked up to the desk. "Hello?…" Brock echoed. Someone then came from behind a curtain. 

"Hello!" the woman said. She was middle aged with green hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a blue sweatshirt and sweatpants, white shoes, and a green apron. "Welcome to the Indigo Flower Shop! How may I help you?"

Brock looked around. "Um, I'm looking for some flowers for someone special… Can you recommend anything?…"

The woman blinked. "Hmmm… Well, how special is this 'special someone', hmm?…"

"Well, it's someone who I met recently, and I want to somehow display my feelings for her in a not so obvious way, just in case she doesn't return the same feelings…"

"Hmmm… Let's see… I think I may have something that may help your problem…" The woman went behind the curtain, and came back out with a flower bud. "This is the 'Friendship' blossom… This is a very special flower with magical properties. It starts out white. Then, when you give it to someone, it will turn red if they return the same feelings you do, or pink if they simply want to be friends. Do not be discouraged if it turns pink, however, as if it turns red before it dies, there is still hope…"

"W-wow…" Brock stuttered. "Can it really do all that?…"

The woman nodded. "But the magic will only work from when the flame of the Pokémon League is lit in 4 days, to when it is put out at the end of the competition…"

Brock crossed his arms and nodded. "Oh, I see… The flame of Moltres is it's source of power…" He then reached for his wallet. "How much is it?…"

"Umm… You seem like a nice boy… How about 7000¥? It's half off of the regular price…"

Brock thought for a moment. "Well, I was going to buy new cooking supplies, but love cannot wait! I must find out her feelings!! I'll buy it, Miss!" Brock yelled, slamming down the money.

The woman smiled. "Thank you, young man…" She then gave the flower bud to Brock. "Good luck with that girl!" 

Brock then ran out of the store. "Thank you!!"

~~~

Liz walked up to the PokéCafé. A few seconds later, Brock came running down the street, holding the blossom. "Waaait!!" Brock yelled out. He stopped right in front of Liz. "Sorry I'm late…"

Liz laughed. "That's okay… I just got here too… So, shall we go in?…"

Brock gave her the flower. "Here! This is for you!"

Liz blushed. "Brock, you shouldn't have…"

"Oh, it was nothing…" Brock said, scratching the back of his head. "Just tell me if it changes colors or anything."

"Um, okay…"

The two then walked into the Café. 

~~~

"So Brock, you make your own Pokémon food?"

Brock looked up from his cup of coffee. "Huh?! What?! Oh, yeah, I make my own food!" _'Okay Brock, stay cool… You can do this…'_ "My friends also call me a great chef!"

"Is that so?…" Liz smirked. "Maybe I could come over to your place and… try some of your cooking?…"

Brock blushed. "Well, I don't really have a 'place?'… I'm staying in a hotel room…"

"Well that's fine… You can come over to _my_ place, then…"

"Well, um… If you want…"

"Great! You can come over to my place the night before the Pokémon League Tournament, right?…"

"Well, I have to help my friend who is entering prepare, but yeah… After that, I'll come on over…"

"Great! Here's my phone number and address! You can call when you're about to come over, so I can get prepared." Liz handed Brock a piece of paper. 

Brock wanted to cry in happiness. _'This is so awesome!!! I've met a girl, gone out for coffee with her, gotten her phone number and been invited over to her house in just 2 days!'_

Suddenly, a deep voice called out. "Hey, Liz? You ready?" a big, buff guy with a red t-shirt, black jeans, red hair, and black boots walked in. 

"Okay, Keith… Sorry, I have to go, Brock… See you in a couple of days!" Liz then walked off with the flowers and the man named Keith… 

Brock simply stood there, solid as stone, slowly crumbling as he watched them walk out of his sight. _'She… has a boyfriend?… But, why did she invite me over… Wait, I'm so stupid… She simply wanted to try my cooking, and maybe bond with another breeder… It's as simple as that…"_

After they were completely out of his view, he stood up. "Well, time for me to get back to the hotel… I'll still go over to her house, though… I promised…" And so, the young breeder walked back to the hotel, alone…

~~~

Meanwhile, Professor Samuel Oak, Delia Ketchum, and Mimie the Mr. Mime were shopping. Actually, it was more like Delia was shopping, while Oak and Mimie were carrying the stuff. Oak had the most to carry, of course. He grunted. "Um, Deli--ack!!!" Oak yelled, gaining his balance and saving the items he was carrying. 

"Yes, Samuel?" Delia said, looking back to Oak. 

"Um, wouldn't it be a bit easier to buy these things a separately in small groups?…"

"How would it be easier? If I buy it all now, I won't have to make several trips!"

Oak gritted his teeth. "Erm, I meant easier on me…"

"Oh… Is it heavy, Samuel?…"

"Um… Yes?…"

Delia clasped her hands together and frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry… There are just a few more things I need to pick up, then we can go…"

Oak sighed. "Oh, alright…"

"Mime!" Mimie chimed in. 

And so, the three continued on their way.

~~~

A few hours later, the whole group went to the hotel pool. The guys were waiting for the girls to come out of the changing room. Ash frowned, wearing a pair of blue swim trunks. "Why do girls always spend so much time in bathrooms and changing rooms?!…"

Brock, trying to get over Liz, shook his head. He was wearing gray swim trunks. "Ash, Ash, Ash… So naïve… Think about it!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Think about what?"

Brock sighed. "When they finally get out, it will be worth the wait…"

Ash thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

Gary laughed. He was wearing purple trunks. "Ha! Even I knew that!"

Tracey glared, looking up from his sketch book. We was wearing green trunks. "Please be quiet… I need to sketch this to perfection…" He was busy sketching the sun bathing girls. 

James laughed. He was wearing white trunks with a big red 'J' on them. "Hey, Trace-buddy! Lend me a copy when you're done!" Tracey chuckled, then went back to his work. 

Professor Oak then lowered his sunglasses. He was wearing red and white striped trunks. "You all be quiet! I have a headache and my back is killing me from carrying all that stuff!"

Finally, the girls came out of the changing room. Delia was wearing a two piece green swimsuit. Jessie was wearing a two piece white swimsuit with a "J" on it. Misty was wearing a two piece yellow swimsuit. She had developed the last few years and it was showing. Ash's jaw almost dropped. He blinked. "Misty… You look… Great!" Everyone but Misty stared at him. "But, um… Jessie looks pretty good, too! And um… Mom! You look good for your age! And um…"

Pikachu sweat dropped. He was wearing little purple trunks with lightning bolts on them. "Pika…"

Misty sweat dropped. _'He's dead…'_ She walked over to the diving board, and prepared to dive. Several guys ogled her. She smirked. _'Watch Ash get jealous…' _ She looked over to where Ash was, but growled. He was eating ramen. _'That jerk! Too busy pigging out again…'_ She shrugged, then did a Swan Dive from one of the higher diving boards. People gasped at her elegance. 

Ash smiled, and began to talk to himself. "She's like a mermaid… She loves water… And she's my mermaid…"

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Did you say something, Ash?…"

"Erk!… Um, no! Just mumbling!" Ash panicked.

"If you say so…"

Ash sighed in relief. _'I have to be careful about what I say out loud…' _Suddenly, he put his ramen bowl down, stood up, and walked over to the diving board. Girls began to drool as Ash let his hair out, letting his long, raven hair spread over his shoulders. They ogled, his muscular, scarred body. 

Misty pop up from under the water. One of the first sights she saw was Ash. Her eyes widened. "Look at all that gorgeous hair…" Misty said silently to herself. 

Ash readied himself, then did a cannon ball into the water, splashing water on a few of the girls and hitting Misty with it in the face. She glared as Ash came from under the water, laughing. "What's wrong, Mist? I thought you liked water!"

Misty then proceeded to dunk Ash under the water. She smiled in satisfaction as he began to gurgle, kick, and flail his arms for air. The others laughed at this exchange. After a few seconds, she left go. Ash slowly sunk under water. He didn't come up. Misty frowned worriedly, then began to look around the pool. The others looked worried also. Finally, Ash popped up behind Misty and groped her breasts. "Guess who!" he laughed. 

Misty's right eye twitched angrily. "Ash, you pervert!!!" she screamed, as she elbowed Ash in the face, hitting him square in the nose. She 'hmphed' in satisfaction as Ash grabbed his nose in pain.

"Wah!!" Ash screamed as he grabbed his nose. "What the hell did you do that for?!" Ash put his hands in front of his face to check for bleeding. He began to feel something warm running down his nose, and began to taste a metallic-like taste in his mouth. "Aw damn, I'm bleeding…"

"What do you think I did it for, jerk! You scared us half to death, then tried to cop a feel off of me! You don't have touching privileges yet!" Misty covered her mouth as she realized she had said too much. 

"Pikapi?…" Pikachu inquired.

Brock's right slit for an eye twitched. "What was that?…"

Jessie giggled. "Touching privileges? Does that mean…"

James and Meowth continued. "… that you two?…"

Delia finished it off. "… are dating?!" Delia began to squeal. "Eeeeeeee!! Oh Ash, that is so wonderful!!"

"Uh…" Ash began, nose still bleeding. Both he and Misty were out of the pool. "Heh heh… We kinda wanted to keep it a secret…"

Gary smirked. "Like I said before, it's about fricken' time!"

Tracey laughed. "Yeah, really… Ever since I met you two and saw your chemistry, I had been counting the days when you two would get together… Well, not literally, but you get the point…"

"Awww, he's already taken?!" a few girls whined. Our heroes face faulted.

Brock laughed. "Hey Tracey, finished with that sketch yet?"

Tracey smiled. "Yep… Take a look at this!"

The guys stared at the sketch, as Brock finished off the episode with a simple quote. "Ain't it gorgeous?…"

_Narrator:_ And so, another day begins to draw to a close… The new, happy couple is now public knowledge. But, can they stay a happy couple? Brock has been heartbroken once again, but is all as it seems?… And what is Giovanni up to? What has he been doing to prepare for the upcoming competition? Find out next time!

**To Be Continued…**

~~~

And that's the newest chapter. I was a bit disappointed with the last chapter… This one seems much better in my opinion. Seeya later!


	5. A Night of Preparation! Don't Give Up!

Disclaimer: Read the first chapter. =P

Okay, don't hurt me! Sorry for not updating in a while. I just wasn't up to writing. So anyway, I am back with a new chapter! This chapter will end the "Pokemon League: Preparation" storyline, and next chapter, we will finally begin the "Indigo Region Pokemon League"! I'm not very good at writing battles, but I try. I'm saving up any battle writing skills that I have for the inevitable "Ash vs. Giovanni" battle, so if the battles seem bland, this is why. Anyway, on with the story!

BTW, here is the official 'key' for symbols and stuff that I will be using for now on.

Transitions

~ (Dream, Nightmare, Fantasy, etc.)

~~~(Scene Change)

~~~~~~(The Fourth Wall! Dum dum dum! Actually, the line between what I am telling you before and after the story, and the actual fic…)

~~~~~~~~~~ (Flashback)

Speech and Thoughts

__

'text'(Thinking)

More will be added soon… Also, if you see [#], that means to look out for a note at the end of the fic!

Also, here are the official ages for my fan fiction:

Ash: 18

Misty: 20

Brock: 23

Tracey: 23

Gary: 18

Professor Oak: 58

Delia: 36

Giovanni: 42

Liz: 21

Others will be added shortly…

Now enough stalling, here is the long awaited 5th chapter!

~~~~~~

The later that day, Brock awoke from his nap with a big yawn. He somehow blinked with his slants for eyes. He looked around the room. It was empty. He figured that everyone else was still up and about. He looked at his watch. It was 10:00 PM. "If everyone is still out, they must be partying or something…" Brock sighed. He was still distraught after that incident with Liz. He tried his best to hide it. He decided that he would go out too, to blow off some steam. He got up from his bed, put on some shoes, grabbed his set of keys, and walked out of the room. 

He began to walk the halls, when he heard strange noises coming from Ash and Misty's room. He was going to brush it off as Ash and Misty fighting again, but then he heard them talking. "Mmm, Ash… This feels so good…"

"Anything for you, Misty…"

"Ooh, Ash… Not there, you bad boy…"

"Heh heh… Sorry…"

Brock, getting jealous of the fact that Ash had a girlfriend and was currently getting some, burst into their still unlocked room. He sweat dropped as he saw Ash giving Misty a back massage. Misty, currently in nothing but a towel, glared at Brock. "Do you ever knock?"

Brock retaliated. "Well, don't you know how to lock a door?!"

Ash sweat dropped. "Can we just drop this?"

Brock sighed, then calmed down. "Alright… I'm sorry, okay?…" He then closed the door. 

Misty looked to Ash and smirked. "So, you wanna get back to what you were doing?…"

Ash smiled. "It would be my pleasure…"

"When did you get so good with your hands, anyway?…"

"Eh, it's… Just something I picked up…"

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: A Night of Preparation! Don't Give Up!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

And so, this time, two days passed. Thus, there was now one day before the lighting of the torch and the beginning of the competition. Everyone was up and about. Brock was reluctantly preparing for the meal he was going to cook for Liz. Team J was parading around the area doing good deeds. Meanwhile, Ash was in his room… 

"Hmm…" Ash thought, looking through books and staring at a computer screen. "This is interesting…" 

Just then, Misty and Gary walked into the door. "Hey, Ashy-boy… What's up?…" Gary asked. 

Ash looked to them. "Oh, hey! I was just researching on a few of the trainers in this year's competition. There is one really odd case here, though…"

"What is it?" Misty inquired. 

Ash pointed to the screen. "A trainer named May… She is 15 years old, started her Pokemon journey as a clueless girl who knew NOTHING about Pokemon. She lost all of her first battles, but eventually grew as a trainer, and is the current champion of the Hoen region."

Gary smirked. "Hey Misty, who does that sound like?…"

Ash glared. "Hey, who do you mean?…"

Misty laughed a bit. "Ash, don't you realize? That sounds a little bit like you…"

Ash blushed. "Yeah, I guess you are right… But believe it or not, this trainer is even worse than I was…"

Misty smiled. "But Ash, not all trainers are perfect…"

Gary chimed in. "Everybody has to start somewhere… The only reason I did better than you was because unlike you, I did my homework… But in your own way, you were a better trainer than me…"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Gary?… Before you gave up Pokemon training to become a Pokemon Researcher, you were a great trainer…"

Gary nodded. "Yes, but you weren't just your Pokemon's trainer and master… You were their best friend. You loved them all, and they loved you back… Even if they didn't respect you, eventually gained their full trust. In that respect, you were a better trainer than me…"

Ash smiled. "Thanks…"

~~~

Meanwhile, at the nearby Police Station, the police were at a meeting. It was dark, and the atmosphere seemed somewhat depressing. Officer Jenny looked to the other officer's with a dark look. "It has come to my attention that Giovanni Sakaki, leader of the criminal organization 'Team Rocket', has entered the Pokemon League incognito. We have no idea of his intentions, or of his actual whereabouts. Until he makes a move, this year's Pokemon League will be on high surveillance. If you manage to spot Giovanni, do not cause distress by publicly acknowledging his presence or attempting to arrest him. It has come to our attention that he has gained access to a once secret project in which scientists attempted to clone the legendary Mew into a super Pokemon known as Mewtwo. This Pokemon is extremely intelligent, powerful, and at some points, very dangerous. If you find Giovanni, do not, I repeat, donot attempt to apprehend him. You will report to me and tell us where you last saw him, what he looked like, and what he was doing when you saw him. We want to make sure the public stay safe and have a fun time. We do not want to alarm them. Have I made myself clear?…"

The officer's saluted her. "Affirmative!"

~~~

Later, Ash began to give all of his Pokemon some last minute training. Misty and Gary watched him. Misty was wearing a yellow sleeveless shirt, jeans, and a pair of white shoes. Gary was wearing a white t-shirt, green pants, and gray shoes.

"C'mon, Charizard! Dodge that Bubble Beam!" Ash yelled, as Charizard flew to the skies to avoid Kingler's Bubble Beam. Charizard then stomped back to the ground, slightly shaking the ground in that area. Ash smiled. "Yeah, that's the way!"

Misty stared at Ash's attire. He was still wearing the same old dirty sleeveless shirt and jeans he appeared in. The shirt was very tight fitting, probably his old shirt he wore under his jacket. The jeans were more loose though, so they were a newer pair, but still old and ragged with holes. Misty frowned and thought to her self. _'Ash deserves better than that old thing… I'd bet he'd like to compete in something better…'_ She smiled. She had been secretly working on a new outfit for Ash the past 2 days. She was almost done with it after days of hard work. She flashbacked to a few days ago as she ran to her room to finish it…

~~~~~~~~~~

Misty sat down on a chair in her and Ash's room. She wanted to sew something together for Ash. She got out her little sewing kit. "Now let's see… I only got past basic clothing in my lessons, so I won't be able to make him anything too fancy…" She then got to work. _'Please let it be good…'_

After several tries at something, she threw her kit to the floor. "Damnit! I cannot do this! I absolutely suck at this!!" She thought about what Ash's reaction would be if she presented what she made to him. 

~

Ash tossed the sad excuse of a shirt to the ground. "This is _thing_ is ugly! How dare you give this to me!!" He then laughed at her.

A chibi Misty whimpered with big, teary eyes. "Please, Ash… I--I worked so hard on it and--" Ash continued to laugh, as Misty cried out. "NNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!…"

~

"WAGH!! I give up!" Misty ran to her bed and began crying. Delia opened the door and saw Misty. She walked over to the young woman. "Misty? Are you okay?…"

Misty looked up to Delia. "Well…"

"Come on… It's okay, you can tell me…"

"Alright…" Misty sniffled. 

"May I sit down?…" Delia inquired. Misty nodded. Delia then sat down next to her. "Now, tell me what's wrong…"

"Well you see… I was trying to sew together something for Ash, and I couldn't make anything good, so I couldn't bear to show it to Ash because he might make fun of me…"

Delia frowned. "Now that doesn't sound like Ash, to make fun of people for trying at something and failing…" She then smiled mischievously. "…Especially since he has done that several times."

Misty smiled a bit. "You're right…"

Delia then brought up another subject. "Now, you love Ash, right?…"

"Yes…"

"And he loves you?…"

"Well he said so, and I truly believe that he meant it…"

"Then it shouldn't matter if what you give him is bad or good, because it was given in love…"

Misty nodded and smiled. "You're right, Mrs. Ketchum! I will not give up!"

Delia smiled back brightly. "Good!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Misty smiled back at that memory. She looked at her completed work. She put it in a box, wrapped it up, and put it away for the time being. She then went back outside to watch Ash train his Pokemon. 

~~~

Much later that day, Brock walked to Liz's apartment. He sighed. He slowly dragged himself up the steps. He rung the doorbell, then waited. Liz opened the door. "Brock! Hi! Come on in!" She was wearing a nice red dress with a long skirt with a slit down the side. _'Probably dressed up for her boyfriend…'_ Brock sadly thought. He walked into the apartment room. 

Liz closed the door. "So, how are you doing?…"

"Oh, I'm fine… Where's Keith?…"

"Oh, out with friends, getting drunk… Little brothers can be so odd, can't they?…"

"Yeah, really… I have several younger siblings that I--" Brock's eyes widened. Yes, they actually opened! I shall leave what they look like to your imagination. "Did you just say… little brother?!"

Liz smiled. "Brock, you are so funny… Of course I did! Keith is my younger brother by two years! What did you think he was, my boyfriend?" Liz laughed. 

Brock was silently crying. He looked to the sky. _'Oh thank you, Spirits of Love!!! You have made this a very happy night!'_ He then looked to Liz. "Yeah, that was silly of me! Anyway, what do you feel like eating, Liz?…"

"Um… Anything would be fine…" Liz smiled.

Brock melted at her smile. "Okay, then… How's Italian sound?…"

"Mmm, sounds romantic…"

Brock at this point was in total bliss. _'Yes!!! She said romantic!!! I may have a chance after all!!!'_ He then smiled at Liz. "Anything for you, m'lady! Italian it is!"

Brock went straight to work. He cooked like a pro. Everything was perfect. He chopped the onions perfectly, prepared the sauce to perfection and boiled the pasta to the perfect texture. When the cooking was all done he set the table, lit a few candles for an added effect, and even pulled out Liz's chair for her. "My, my…" Liz smiled. "A Pokemon Breeder, Cook, and a gentleman… I think this one may be a keeper…"

Brock blushed. "Well, shall we eat?"

Liz nodded. "It looks delicious…"

Brock sat down to his own plate. "Well, enjoy…"

Liz picked up her fork and tried the salad first. Brock looked on in anticipation. Liz took a bite, blinked a bit, then smiled. "This is… good! Best salad I have ever tasted!"

Brock smiled. "Really?…"

"Yes! If the salad is this good, I can't wait for the main course!"

The dinner continued. They got to the main course, spaghetti. 

"And now, pasta!" Brock exclaimed. He set the plates in front of them both.

"Yummy." Liz smiled. She took a nice bite of the spaghetti. She chewed for a bit, then swallowed. She stared at Brock. Brock took a big gulp. Liz then grabbed her cheeks in joy, blushed, and smiled. "Oh my… That was… wonderful!! The noodles just melted in your mouth, and the sauce was rich with tomato flavor! That was probably the best meal I have had in ages!" 

Brock smiled brightly. "You really mean it?!"

"Yes… I do…" Liz stared lovingly at Brock.

~~~

A little while passed, and Brock had put the extra food away and washed the dishes. The two young adults sat at the table, and began to talk. Liz smirked. "So, Brock… Tell me more about yourself… What about your siblings?"

Brock thought for a moment. "Well, I have several brother's and sisters. At one point, both my parents were gone… I had to raise all of my brother's and sisters all by myself… I was the Gym Leader of the Pewter City Gym. My father eventually returned, and I went on a Pokemon Journey with my friends Ash and Misty."

"What happened to your mother?…" Liz asked, interested. 

"My father said she died, but she left just like my dead beat dad… When I returned to the Pewter Gym, my mother had came back, and had turned the Pewter Gym into a water-based gym. My poor father, who I had left in charge, lost a Pokemon battle to her. I battled her, won and the Gym became a Water/Rock gym. My eldest younger brother became the Gym Leader [1], and I started a short lived Breeding Center."

"Oh, my… What happened with the Breeding Center?…"

"I was short on funds…"

"Ah, I see…"

"Now, tell me about yourself…"

"Well, not much to say except that I'm a breeder… I love Pokemon, and wanted to breed them… I was born in the Johto Region, but I longed to see new places. I then moved here."

"Hmm… Well, goodnight… Sorry for leaving so suddenly, but I have to go… Tomorrow is the Indigo League, and my friend is in it…"

"Oh, I see… I was going to see it, but I couldn't this year… Well, bye Brock! Thank you for the wonderful meal…"

"No problem! Seeya later!" Brock then turned around and walked to the door, but was pulled back and turn around by Liz. "Um, Liz--" Brock was cut off by a kiss. After a few seconds, they pulled back. "Wow… What was that?…"

"A hint… Goodnight, Brocky…" She opened the door and Brock walked out. She then closed the door. 

Brock smiled. "Wow…" he then raised an eyebrow. "Was that… tongue?…"

~~~

Ash walked into his room after a long day of training. His Pokemon were all resting at the center. He looked around, and saw Misty sitting on her bed. She was now wearing a white dress. She looked to Ash. "Hi, Ash!"

"Um…" Ash blinked. "Hi, Misty… What's up?…"

"What do you mean?…" Misty asked innocently.

"Misty…" Ash crossed his arms.

"Oh, fine… You caught me… I have a gift for you…" She brought out the box. 

"Misty, you didn't have to…" Ash smiled.

"But I did… Open it!"

Ash did so. Inside was a pair of dark blue pants, a blue sleeveless shirt, and a black long sleeve t-shirt to wear under it. "Misty, this is awesome! Did you make this?…"

"Yes… Sorry that it isn't anything too special…"

"That's fine… This thing is cool! I will wear it in everyone of my competitions…"

"And I also bought you a new pair of shoes!" Misty handed Ash a black pair of sneakers. "And one last thing…" Misty brought out her suit case. She went through it and produced a red and white cap with a green symbol on it. She smiled and gave it to Ash. "This… is for luck…"

"Misty…" Ash looked at her with tears of happiness in his eyes.

"I kept it safe all these years… Now it is yours again…"

"Misty… All this, and I have nothing to give to you…"

Misty playfully punched Ash on the shoulder. "You silly boy… You have given me something… Your love…"

Ash cupped Misty's face with his hand and gently brought it closer to his. "You're right… Silly me…" He then kissed Misty on the lips. She returned the kiss. He brushed his tongue against hers, requesting entrance. She answered by letting him his tongue enter her mouth. Their tongues brushed against each other, and Misty moaned slightly. Ash slowly brought both their bodies close to his bed and laid them both down. Misty managed to flip them both over so that she was lying on top of him. They continued to play with each others tongues. Misty pressed herself closer to Ash, her skirt slightly rising above her thighs and her breasts pressing against Ash's. Ash broke the kiss and gently sucked on the girls neck, leaving a mark on her neck and claiming her. She then returned the favor. 

"I love you, Ash…" Misty cried.

Ash smiled. "And I love you, Misty…"

Misty took Ash's shirt and pulled it over his head. She looked at his chest and rubbed it. She rested her head on his chest. "I wish we could stay like this forever…"

Ash rubbed his hand through her flaming red hair. "Then let's stay like this for tonight…" Misty and Ash fell asleep, just like that… Together for the entire night… 

~~~

That very next morning, they awoke the exact same they fell asleep. Misty yawned. "Wake up, sleepy head…" She poked him on the nose. 

Ash awoke with a huge yawn. He looked at Misty and smiled. "Hello there!"

"You big dork…"

"Shrew woman…" He was then pounded on the head. "Ow!… Well, today is the big day…"

"Yep…"

Ash stared at Misty. "Well, I kind of have to get ready…"

"Sorry…" Misty slowly got up. She sighed sadly.

~~~

Ash looked at his new outfit, custom made by Misty. Misty herself went to go help the others get ready. He smiled. He then put on his old trusty hat. "Hey, hat… Miss me?…" He then sighed. "Well, time to go!" He walked out of the room. 

Suddenly, as he was walking through the hallway, he heard his mother. "Ash! Wait!" Delia ran over to Ash. "I just… came to wish you luck…"

"Thanks mom… But I have to go!"

"Yes I know, but… At least let me cut you hair…"

~~~

Ash looked at his new hair cut in the mirror. It was now very short, barely going past his ears, but the bangs in front remained. He thanked his mother and ran to the opening ceremony. 

__

Narrator's Voice: And so, Ash's Pokemon Journey is winding down… Brock finally got a girl! And the police are aware of Giovanni's activities… What will happen? Find out next time!

****

To Be Continued…

~~~

Whew! Longest chapter ever! And I mean ever! I have never written an entire chapter this long! (Which is nothing to be proud of, this is only 3000+ words, but…) Anyway, the plot is once again getting underway! And May IS in here! Whee! Anyway, I am tired… I think I will go to sleep now… Bye! I now leave you with a few notes.

[1] Up until after this point in the paragraph was true. There was a Special in Japan that explained where Brock/Takeshi was before he joined up with Ash/Satoshi in the new season/series. 


	6. Pokemon League, Open!

Author's Notes: Yes, I am alive… I haven't written anything in a long time, and I hope I haven't gotten rusty… The reason I chose now to come back is because… I want to get this finished before grades come in… So… Yeah… I've got anywhere from a few days to a week to get this thing finished… x_x Wish me luck…

Also, for anyone that might still be around, thanks for sticking around for my crap and delays and days of not updating. So, on with the fic…

~~~~~~

Ash and Pikachu ran down the road, Ash holding the torch that signified the beginning of the Pokemon League. He smiled as he ran towards the stadium. Everyone except Jessie, James, and Meowth were finding their seats. What were these three doing? What they always do at Pokemon League competition's! 

"Badges!" Jessie yelled out. "Get your official Pokemon League Badges!" 

"Jessie…" James began. "Do you really think we should be doing this again?…"

"No sweat!" Meowth reassured, holding up a document of some sort. "We got a contract this time around, and they were so popular at the Johto League, that word got around, and now these really _are_ official badges!"

"So… Basically, that means--"

Jessie interrupted. "--That these are completely legit! So stop your worrying, okay? I like it better when you are happy…" Jessie smiled.

James blushed, and stared into Jessie's deep blue eyes. He held her hands. "Jessie, you…"

Jessie looked into James emerald green eyes. "Yes, James?…"

"Heeey!!" an angry customer shouted. "Get a room or something!!! Damn!!"

"Yeah!" another customer screamed. "We want our badges!!"

Jessie and James blushed, then put their hands down. Jessie growled, regaining her composure. "James, stop that!" she pounded him on the head, knocked him down, then stomped on his back. 

"What'd I do?!" James whimpered. 

Jessie sighed, straightened out her clothes, closed her eyes. '_Whoa there, Jessie-girl… Getting a bit soft, are we?… I-- I just can't let anyone know that I-- I might be falling for James…_' 

James stared up at Jessie. '_Jessie is so beautiful… Even when she's beating the snot out of me…_' He slowly got up and dusted himself off. He giggled. "Sorry, sir… We'll get back to you in a moment!" The two then got back to work. 

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: Pokemon League, Open!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

Ash walked up the final steps up to the giant torch platform. He carefully lit it, and watched in amazement as the flames of Moltres blazed. He smiled. "Ha, ha! Yeah, whoo hoo!!" he raised his fist into the air, and the crowd cheered loudly. Brock, who along with the others had found seats, smiled. "No matter how old he gets, he's still just that kid we met 8 years ago…" 

"Yeah…" Misty began, but then thought about it and sweat dropped. "Although I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing…" She then whispered to herself. "But he'll always be my Ash…"

Ash and Pikachu then hopped down the steps. They walked off somewhere and ended up wandering the hallways. Ash raised an eyebrow. "Whoa, where are we?…"

Pikachu jumped in front of Ash protectively, growled, and his cheeks sparked. "Pika!"

Ash gulped. "Pikachu?…" Ash squinted, and he managed to make out the form of a short, very pale (almost completely white) man with yellow eyes. He was sitting in a dark corner. "What the hell are you?" Ash asked rudely. 

"Ahee hee…" the man grinned. "That really isn't any of your business… Now is it?…" The man laughed hysterically. 

Ash growled. "Now see here!! I was in the top 16 in the Pokemon League, the top 8 at Johto and --"

"Number one in losing!"

"Grrr…"

"Ahee hee hee…" the man brought out a tiny black spiraled cone. With a quick flick of his wrist, he sent it flying at Ash. The cone whizzed towards Ash's face. He simply tilted his head slightly and the cone hit the wall. He glared at the man. "I have no time for your games… I have to prepare for my first battle."

"Ooh, you're quite fast… But not fast enough…" 

"Huh?… Urk!…" Ash's eyes widened as he felt a stinging pain in his left arm. Another cone had somehow made contact. He quickly pulled it out of his arm. He breathed heavily as his vision became blurry. "Wha--- What the hell did you do to me?… What was that?…"

"Oh, those little things?… Just poison darts…"

Ash, pupils beginning to dilate, glared at the man. "You sick bastard…"

"Ah, ah, ah… No need for name calling. They won't kill you, they'll just knock you out for a few hours…"

"But… I'll miss my mat--" Ash fell into a heap on the floor. 

Pikachu nudged Ash. "Pika… Pikapi…" Pikachu turned to the man angrily. "PIKA!!! Pi Pikachu Pikapi!!" Pikachu snarled. 

"Your trainer is unharmed… That was some of my weaker poison… It won't even last in his blood stream…" the man then got up and walked off.

Pikachu looked to his unconscious trainer and best friend. "Pikapi…" Pikachu then shocked Ash's sleeping form. 

"Gyah!!!" Ash hopped up. "Mommy!!! I didn't do it!!" He blinked. "Damn, that guy got away…" He looked down to Pikachu. "Thanks for the wake up call, buddy… Now let's go!"

Pikachu nodded. "Pika!"

~~~

The announcer's voice blasted through the stadium. "Hello, Pokemon fans! Today is a beautiful day, and the Pokemon League Championship is just beginning! Our first match involves: On the red side, the mysterious Poison Man!" 

The same man that poisoned Ash appeared as his podium raised. He smiled evilly. He was wearing a black and red robe. The crowd cheered.

The announcer continued. "And on the green side, a returning competitor, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The podium raised, but Ash was nowhere to be seen. A few seconds passed. 

The entire crowd blinked at the same time. "Hey, where's Ash?…" Misty began. She looked all over.

"Togeprrrii?…"

Gary furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, where'd he get off to?…"

Professor Oak frowned. "Yes, he is going to be late for his match…"

Delia blinked. "This is so unlike him…"

Suddenly, Ash ran into the stadium. "Hey, everyone! Sorry I'm late! I got a bit… held up by something…" He stared at the Poison Man, not wanting to rat him out now and deciding to embarrass him during the battle. '_So, **he's** my opponent… That's why he tried to make me late, so I would be disqualified… Why that lousy, living sack of sh--_'

"Hello, there!" the Poison Man interrupted. "Isn't it a bad omen to be late to a battle?" he mocked. 

Ash gritted his teeth, patiently waiting for the moment when he would completely destroy this 'Poison Man'. "That's just what you think!" Ash yelled back as he and Pikachu walked up the podium. 

The announcer went back to his job. "Now that that has been settled, let's bring our attention to the battle!" 

The referee, flags in hand, woke up from a nap. "Eh?… Oh!!" He quickly stood at attention. "This is an Official Pokemon League battle! The trainers may each use three Pokemon! Once one trainers Pokemon are all unable to battle, the other trainer wins! Let the battle begin!"

The Poison Man picked a Pokeball from his sash. "Alright, then…" He tossed his Pokeball onto the field. "Go, Beedrill!" A flash of light fell onto the field. Beedrill slowly appeared. 

"Bzzz!…"

Ash smirked. "In that case… I use Noctowl! Go!" Ash released his shiny Noctowl. "How's it been, Noctowl?"

"Noctowl!"

"Beedrill! Use your Poison Sting attack!"

"Noctowl! Dodge it, then fly up in the air!"

Noctowl complied, and ended up high in the air.

"Beedrill, use Poison Sting again!"

"Noctowl, use Fly!!"

Both Pokemon charged at each other, and both attacks connected. Beedrill was sent hurtling towards the earth as a result of Fly, and Noctowl was poisoned. 

"Ahh…" Ash began. 

"Gyah?!" Poison Man cried, as his Beedril hit the ground. "Get up!" Beedrill complied. 

"Noctowl, can you still fight?…" Ash asked in concern. Noctowl nodded, then glared at Beedrill. "Noctowl, Sky Attack!" The owl Pokemon began to glow. 

Poison Man began to get a bit intimidated, but quickly recovered. "Beedrill, use Quick Attack!" The bee charged at Noctowl, hitting him. The poison applied extra damage. 

"Grrr…" Ash growled. "Noctowl, you okay?…" The owl cawed and nodded. Ash smiled. "Good… Now, unleash Sky Attack!" Noctowl unleashed it's powerful attack, sending Beedrill back down into the ground, knocked out. Unfortunately, Noctowl finally succumbed to the poison, and fell to the ground swirly eyed. 

The referee ran up. "Both Pokemon are unable to battle!! This round… is a tie!" The giant scoreboard blacked out both trainers first slots. The crowd gasped, then cheered on the great show so far. 

"Whoa!" Tracey gasped. "A double KO! I gotta sketch this!" He then began on his work. 

Both Ash and the Poison Man looked on in disbelief. After they regained their composure, they recalled their Pokemon. During this time, Tracey managed to get the sketch finished. 

Ash and the Poison Man each grabbed another Pokeball. "Treecko/Arbok! Go!"

"Treecko, Tree!"

"Chaaarbok!"

"Treecko! You ready?"

"Arbok! Get ready to roll!! Use Wrap!"

"Treecko! Dodge i--" But it was too late. Treecko was wrapped up within the snakes coils. "No! Treecko!"

The snake pokemon continuously squeezed the plant pokemon. Finally, it let go. Treecko shook his head, then smirked. Ash smiled. "Yeah, Treecko! Don't let it get to you!"

"Arbok!" The Poison Man began. "Use Wrap again!"

"Treecko! Jump in the air and use Pound!" 

In it's haste to wrap up Treecko before he escaped, the Arbok ended up tying itself into a knot, looking like some strange purple pretzel. "Chhhaaaaa!!!" It cried out before becoming the victim of Treecko's powerful Pound attack. 

"Nooo!!! My Arbok!" Poison Man cried out. "Arbok! Poison Sting!"

Arbok, although still tied up, used a Poison Sting attack. Treecko was hit dead on, becoming Poisoned. Ash glared. "Grr… Treecko, use Pound again!" Treecko complied. Arbok was knocked out. 

The ref ran back out. "Arbok is unable to battle! Ash wins the round!" The Poison Man screamed as his second slot blacked out. "Arbok, return!!" The Poison Man growled. He then smirked. "Now, time for the Grand Finale! If you thought that all I had were Poison-type Pokemon, think again! I'm no Bug Catcher!! Go, my Onix!"

"Grooooaar!!"

"Onix?…" Ash began in surprise. "Shit, this might be trouble… You think you can take him in your condition, Treecko?…" 

Treecko smiled. "Treeeecko!"

"Alright then! Treecko, use Leech Seed!" Treecko unleashed a seed that planted itself on Onix

"What?! Oh no!!!"

"Oh, yes!! Your Onix is seeded!" Treecko groaned a bit, and fell to it's knees. "Treecko! You okay?"

"Ah ha! You forgot about the poison! Onix, Rock Throw!!!" The ground arose, as chunks of the ring flew towards Treecko. He began to dodge them, hop on them, do anything to avoid the debris, but the poison slowed him down and he was hit with a piece. He fell to the ground, swirly eyed. 

The ref once again walked up. "Treecko is unable to battle! Round goes to the Poison Man!" The board had one less Ash marker on it. 

"Pikachu…" Ash started, looking down. "You're up…" Pikachu hopped into the ring. 

The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. Misty blinked. "Pikachu… But… Electricity won't effect Rock types at all…"

Brock shakes his head. "Ash is doomed…"

The Poison Man laughed. "A Pikachu?! Ahee hee hee!! No matter how strong it is, it's electric attacks won't be able to hurt my Onix at all!!" 

Ash's head still down, he smiled. His eyes were covered by his hat's shadow. "Who said I would use electricity?…" 

The Poison Man raised an eyebrow. "Well alright, then… Onix, Body Slam!"

"Pikachu, look out!" But Pikachu couldn't get put of the way in time. The Onix crushed him. Ash stared in horror, his eyes widening. "PIIIIKAAACHUUU!!!!!!"

The entire crowd gasped. Misty covered her mouth with her hands. "No…"

"Alright, Onix…" The Poison Man began. "That's enough…" Onix got up, but suddenly groaned in pain, a plant growing from it. Massive amounts of energy was sapped from Onix, and given to Pikachu. The mouse got up, feeling reenergized. "What the hell?!"

Ash smiled. "It seems we all forgot about Treecko's Leech Seed… His sacrifice was not in vain… Now Poison Man, wouldn't you like to tell everyone how you poisoned me and tried to make me miss this match?…"

Poison Man began to sweat. "I-- I don't know what you are talking about! He's lying!!"

Ash smirked. "Oh, really?…" Ash pulled a poison dart from his pocket. "Then do you remember this?…" 

The Poison Man began to breath heavily. "I… don't know…"

Ash sighed. "You may think you are bad-ass, but you're just pathetic… I'll put you out of your misery and take you down right here!! Pikachu, Iron Tail!!!" the electric mouse's tail began to glow. The crowd looked on in awe. Pikachu ran up to Onix, ran up it's weakened form, and slammed it right in the top of it's head with Iron Tail. Pikachu landed on it's feet, and Onix fell to the ground behind him. 

The ref once again ran up. "Onix is unable to battle!" He raised the green flag. "Ash is the winner!" The Poison Man's final slot blacked out. 

The Poison Man screamed out. "Noooo!!! Onix, return!!! I'll get you, damn it!!!" He brought out another, slightly bigger dart and flung it at Ash. 

"Ash!!!" Misty screamed out.

The young man caught the dart with his two front fingers. He flicked it back at the Poison Man, and the blunt end cracked the villain in the forehead. The Poison Man's head snapped back and he fell off his podium. After a few minutes of silence and Ash staring at where the Poison Man once stood, he turned to the audience, smiled, and flashed a peace sign. "Hee hee… I won!!" The crowd cheered louder than ever before. Pikachu ran up to Ash and hopped up to him. Ash caught the Pokemon and hugged him. They walked out of the arena, and Ash's friends greeted him. 

"Damn, Ash!" Gary exclaimed. "That was friggin' awesome!!!"

Delia ran up to Ash and began checking him up and down. "Oh, Ash! Did he hurt you?…" 

Ash put a hand behind his head and sweat dropped. "Well, it stung a little, but I'm alright, Mom!"

Professor Oak smiled. "Good work, my boy… You have certainly improved!"

Misty walked up to Ash. "Ash…"

Suddenly, a bunch of kids trampled Misty. They all jumped up and down, wanting his autograph. Ash blinked, looking around. "Whoa, whoa! Take it easy! One at a time!"

One kid, a shy looking one, walked up "Mr. Ash?…"

Ash flinched at being called 'Mr.' 

"Um, yeah?…"

"Uh, I just wanted to say…"

"Hmm?…"

"You're um…"

"Hey kid, don't be scared! I'm not gonna bite!"

The boy giggled. "Um, well Mr. Ash… You're bad-ass!"

Ash stared blankly for a moment. Then he smiled, then rubbed his chin. "Well yes, I AM pretty damn bad-ass, if I might say so myself…"

The others sweat dropped and stared in disbelief. Brock sighed. "Same old egotistical Ash…" 

Misty, now recovered from the trampling, ran up to Ash and hugged his arm. "But that's why we love 'im!" She then smiled. 

Narrator: _And so, the first match has ended! Ash has shown off a few of his new moves, and now has a fan club! But, this is just the beginning… And what happened to Team J?…_

~~~

Jessie, James, and Meowth sigh in relief and sit down. James smiles. "Well, we finally sold all the badges!" 

"Yep!" Meowth joined in. "Now we can go meet up with the others!"

A guy walks up. "Hey, sign here…"

Jessie, so happy over selling all the badges, signs the papers without asking anything. 

James raises an eyebrow. "Excuse me, but what was that?…" A rumble is heard.

"Oh, the badges are in such high demand, that we're sending you a whole new order!" The rumble gets louder. 

"Oh! That's good…………What?!" Suddenly, a construction truck comes up and dumps boxes upon boxes of badges on our favorite group of underdogs. "NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

**__**

To Be Continued…

~~~

And that's that! This was fun! =D Seeya tomorrow!


	7. Ash vs May!

Author's Notes: Yay, I actually managed to update faster… I finally managed to catch all the Pokemon possible without trading in Red version. Except Snorlax… Damn sloth. I just HAD to save after killing it. Grah…. O.O Sorry… Anyway, here is the next chapter!

EDIT: Okay, slightly revised chapter… Sorry, I'm a bit rusty in writing and I haven't played the new games in a while… New chapter tomorrow… 

~~~~~~~

May, getting back to her room after watching Ash's battle with the Poison Man, rubbed her chin. "Mm, he looks like a bit of a toughie compared to my other battles so far… But oh, well! No worries! He'll be no trouble at all! Now let's see…" May began, looking at her Pokeballs spread across her bed. "Which ones should I use?"

Ash yawned tiredly after waking up from a nap. He was resting up for his next match. He rubbed his arm, still stinging from the Poison Man's attack. He yawned once again. He looked to Pikachu. "So, ready for a break?… I was thinking about using a different team this time around…" 

Pikachu blinked and stared at Ash. "Pikapi?…" 

Ash smiled. "Don't worry, buddy… It's only for this battle… Once I beat my next opponent, I'll bring you back on to the team!" 

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded. 

Suddenly, Brock walked in. "Hey, Ash! It's time to see who your next opponent is!" 

Ash hopped up from his bed. "Really?! Then let's go!" Ash dragged Brock out of the room, with Pikachu trailing behind. 

~~~

Ash walked up to the machine that would determine the next match. He excitedly watched the pictures bleeping, wondering who he would face. Brock looked at his watch, then back at Ash. He then sighed, exasperated. "Ash?…"

"Yeah, Brock?" Ash replied, not looking away from the screen. 

"Um… Correct me if I am mistaken, but shouldn't you push the big, shiny red button?…"

Ash snapped out of his battle lust and laughed nervously. "Yeah, I guess I should…" He pressed the button, and the pictures of trainers flashing across slowly came to a stop until… "May… Where have I heard that name before?…" Ash blinked, staring at the picture of the young trainer seriously. 

"Hmm?" Brock raised an eyebrow. 

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: Mentor and Student of Another Universe! Ash vs. May!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

"Aaaaaand welcome, to another Pokemon League match!" the announcer yelled proudly. "This has been an exciting day so far! The first match between Ash Ketchum and the Poison Man was an action packed opener, the second match between newcomer from Hoen named May and a fan favorite, Pokemaniac was… interesting to say the least, and the battle between Gazelle and Bell was quite the shocker! Bell took down Gazelle within the first few minutes! Now, we begin the second round!" As May's podium rose, the announcer continued. "In the red corner, we have May, from Littleroot Town!" May smiled as the crowd cheered. "And in the green corner, Ash from Pallet!" The crowd cheered louder. May gave a jealous 'hmph!'. 

May glared at Ash. She was wearing her usual outfit. After a moment of awkward silence, her eyes became glossy and a pink/yellow bubbly background appeared. May, blushing, clasped her hands together. "Ohhh please, Mr. Ash! Please don't be _too_ hard on me!" 

Ash, taken aback by her behavior, face faulted. Misty, in the audience with the others, was furious. She attempted to jump out of the audience and attack May, but in a spirited grab Gary, Brock, and Tracey managed to hold her back with all of their combined strength. "Damn her!! She's giving us female's a bad name!!"

Tracey, still struggling with the others, gasped out. "Geez, she sure is hard to hold back when she's angry!!" He almost lost his grip, but got a hold on her again. 

Brock grunted. "Misty, calm down!! It's nothing to get upset over!"

"Actually, I'd like a whack at her myself…" a voice said.

"Jessie? What are you doing here?" Brock asked, confused.

Jessie looked from the arena to Brock, arms crossed. "The others and I finally sold the rest of the badges… James is relaxing in the nearby hot spring, and Meowth is getting groomed… Peh, lazy men…"

"Gee…" Delia sighed, confused. "I wonder why the battle hasn't started yet?…"

Brock's left eyebrow twitched. "Damn lazy referee…" He pointed to another part of the arena. The ref was sitting on a bench, reading. "He's reading comics…"

Jessie scoffed. "Figures… I'll bet it's some gory, fan service filled action Graphic Novel…"

~~~

"Awwww, poor Ayumi-chan…" the ref cried. "She loves Iori-sama soooo much, but he barely even notices her…" he sniffles. "Shoujo manga is so great!" the ref looked up from his book to see Pokemon League Officials glaring at him. He gulped. "Oops, sorry…" He quickly stood up, grabbed his flags, and got that serious look on his face. He ran up and began. "This is an Official Pokemon League match! Each trainer may use 3 Pokemon blah, blah, blah OKAY GO!!!" he ran back to his bench and buried himself in his book. 

May grabbed her first Pokemon. "Beautifly, go!" She brought out the butterfly, and it waved it's beautiful wings. Even Misty and Jessie had to stare. 

"Ivysaur, go!" Ash yelled. The evolved form of Bulbasaur came out from it's Pokeball. It smirked. Ash smiled. "How are you, old friend…"

"Ivy!" It glared at Beautifly. "Saur!"

"Beautifly! Stun Spore!" The butterfly spread it's paralyzing dust upon Ivysaur. Ivysaur struggled to move, but it's eyes widened as he realized that it couldn't. 

"Ivysaur!" Ash yelled. 

"That's the way, Beautifly! Now, use Tackle!" Beautifly hit Ivysaur straight on, sending him flying back. 

"Ahh! Ivysaur, can you stand?…"

"Saur!" Ivysaur slowly stood up. 

"Alright, good… Ivysaur, get ready for Solarbeam!"

"Hee hee…" May giggled. "Your Solar Beam will never hit my Beautifly… "

"Just you wait…" Ash began. Ivysaur began to gather energy from the sun. 

"Yawn… Beautifly, use Sleep Powder on him…" Beautifly drenched Ivysaur in the powder, making him fall fast asleep. "So, how about that?…"

Ash smirked. "Nice… But how about this?" Ash pulled something from his pocket. It was a Pokeflute. He smiled and played it, waking up Ivysaur. "You okay, Ivysaur?…"

"Saur!" Ivysaur nodded happily. 

"Alright, then… Wrap up Beautifly with your Vine Whip!" Ivysaur's vine's whipped out from behind him and tightly wrapped up the butterfly. "Now, charge up your Solar Beam!!"

"No!" May screamed. "Don't do it!"

"Squeeze harder! Keep going!"

"No!"

"Harder!"

"Stooop!!! Don't be so… mean to me!"

The audience sweat dropped as dialogue that sounded very suggestive was traded back and forth. Misty fumed. "If I get my hands and Ash and that hussy--"

"Misty, stop!!" Brock yelled. "They're not doing it on purpose!"

Misty calmed down, then sat back in her seat. "This battle is a joke…"

Gary sighed. "And it's still just the first round… This is going to be a long day…"

Back in the arena, Ivysaur's Solar Beam was ready. He unleashed it's force upon Beautifly, then let go of it. The butterfly was sent flying across the arena and hit May in the face. 

The ref ran up. "Beautifly is unable to battle! Ash is the winner!"

"Waaaaah!!! My beautiful Beautifly! You… You big meanie!!!"

Ash blinked. "Meanie?! This is a battle! I have to fight you seriously!"

May glared. "Fine, then… You wanna get serious?! Let's go!" May grabbed another Pokeball. "Torchic, let's go!" May recalled Beautifly and called out

"Torchic!" the tiny bird Pokemon ran around the arena happily. 

Ash sweat dropped. "Um…"

May smiled. "Torchic may look weak--" Torchic ran into a wall, shook it's head, then continued to run around. "--and um, ditzy…"

Brock smiled. "Looks like they're a perfect match, then…."

May continued. "… but he's tough! Torchic, use Flamethrower!" 

Torchic shook it's head after another encounter with the wall. "Torchic Tor!" Torchic bombarded Ivysaur with a huge flame. When the flames and smoke cleared, Ivysaur was comically charred. 

"Saur… (Shit…)"

The ref stumbled up. "Ivysaur is unable to battle! May wins!"

"Yay!" May cheers. She then sticks her tongue out at Ash. "Poo on you, Mr. Ash!"

"God, she's embarrassing sometimes…" a boy with spiky blue hair who was sitting next to Professor Oak. 

"Hm?" Oak said. "Excuse me… But who are you, if I may ask?"

"Oh! Sorry! I'm Max, May's brother! Hey aren't you Professor Oak?! Can I get your autograph?!"

Oak sighed. "Well, here's another one…"

James and Meowth finally arrived and stood next to the others. James smiled. "Hey everyone, what did we miss?…"

Gary sighed. "The worst battle ever…"

Back in the battle, Ash brought out Wartortle and easily took out Torchic.

"Gah… Only one Pokemon left…" May said to herself. "Heh heh… Ash, your in trouble now… The person I got this Pokemon from said that this would be able to easily beat any Pokemon! Go!!" The flash of light dissipated and a Magikarp appeared.

"Magikarp, Karp, Karp…" it said, flopping up and down. 

Everyone sweat dropped. James gasped. "Gyaaah! Where is he?!" James said with malice. He looked around and saw the Magikarp dealer. He glared at him as the con-artist waved and smiled. 

Ash sighed. "Wartortle… Tackle…" And so, it was over…

"I lost…" May said. "Oh well!" May smiled.

"Eh?" Ash inquired. 

"Well you see, I never wanted to be a Pokemon Trainer anyway! I wanted to be a Pokemon Coordinator and be in Pokemon Contests! I just love some of the beautiful ways they attack! But, I never had the courage to say that until now…"

"Well, it's always good to follow your dreams… Good luck!"

"Thank you!"

"But, I have one question…"

"What?"

"… How the hell did you get this far?!"

"Oh, the people I went against felt sorry for me!"

Everyone face faulted.

"So that's why you put on that help girl act…"

"Yep! So, I guess that's it…"

"Uh huh…"

Jessie sighed, then growled. "This is just damn pathetic! Can we just cut to the next scene now?!"

~~~

May sighed as she lay on her bed. "That was so embarrassing…" Someone walked up to her. "Hm? Oh, hey Max…"

"Hey… Sorry about your loss…"

"It's okay…. Like I said, I want to be a Pokemon Coordinator!"

"Yeah… But just remember, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, your little brother's there for you… Although I may not act it sometimes, I love ya sis…"

May smiled, tears of happiness running down her face. "Thank you, Max… I love you too, bro…"

Narrator: _And so, a strange match comes to an end… But now, the battles of the Pokemon League must continue as normal… What new opponent will Ash face next time?… Stay tuned to find out!_

****

To Be Continued…

~~~

Okay, chapter's over! I just wasn't up to writing today… I'm tired, it's 10:30, and my hand is beginning to cramp… So goodnight everyone! Ow… XD


	8. Hero vs Villain!

A/N: Okay, sorry for the sloppy last chapter. I just haven't seen enough of Pokemon Advanced, yet… Oh well, hopefully this chapter will be better… 

~~~~~

Narrator: _And so, Ash fought several more battles in the Pokemon League! The action just didn't stop when Ash Ketchum was battling! Now, it's just down to the final 2 competitors… Ash and Bell, who is actually Giovanni in disguise… Now, we arrive at the final battle…_

Ash, meditating under a waterfall, opened his eyes. He took another look at his muscular, but scared body. He had abandoned his shirts, shoes and socks. He sighed. '_It's amazing what can happen in five years…_' "This is so relaxing… This year's Pokemon League has been… interesting… I originally trained for this in order to just win, but my next competitor… It's him, I know it…" Ash glared. "The leader of Team Rocket, who tried to capture Mewtwo… Giovanni…" He turned to Pikachu, who was also meditating. "Pikachu, are you ready for this?…"

Pikachu broke out of his trance. "Pika!" 

Ash smiled. "OK! It's time to go!"

~~~

Giovanni walked down a long hallway. He smiled. "My next competitor, I may need _him_…" He turned and gathered up the Pokemon he would use from a PC. He began to talk to himself. "Ash, you tried to keep me from catching Mewtwo once, but while you were off elsewhere, I managed to capture him and take over his mind… Now I will utterly destroy you and use you as an example of what happens to those who try to oppose me…" Giovanni smiled cruelly and began to laugh. 

~~~

"Brock!" Liz yelled, running down the aisle that led to the bleachers. She was breathing heavily.

Brock turned around. "Liz! What are you doing here?"

She stopped, and looked up to him. "The flower, it bloomed. It was white, then a few hours later, it turned…"

"Yes?…"

"Pink… Isn't that strange?"

Brock gritted his teeth. '_But… last night… she said…_' He hid his feelings and smiled. "Yeah, that is a bit peculiar… Well, I have to go! Seeya later!" Brock ran off. 

"Wait, Brock!" Liz shouted, reaching out for him. She put her hand down and sighed, then walked back home. 

~~~

*Dunna-nuh, duh nuh nuh!*

Ash's voice: Hero vs. Villain! Ultimate Battle Begins!

*Duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh!*

~~~

"Hello again, everyone! The final battle of the day is now beginning! Whoever wins this will go on to fight the Elite Four tomorrow! This ought to be the most entertaining battle as both trainers have not failed to put on a good show thus far!" The announcer bellowed throughout the stadium. "So without further ado, on the red side, the very mysterious Bell! And on the green side, Ash Ketchum!" The crowds cheered loudly for both trainers. Both Giovanni and Ash smiled at each other. 

~~~

In the crowd, the others looked on. Misty screamed out, waving a huge banner. "Go Ash, go! Go Ash, go! Send that Bell guy back where he came from!!!"

Ash looked up to Misty, smiled, and asked. "Okay, Misty… But where did he come from?…" The entire audience, group of officials, the referee, Pikachu and even Giovanni face faulted. 

"Nevermind, Ash…"

Everyone waited. They waited and waited and waited. The referee looked up from his meal of roasted chicken, scalloped potatoes, caviar, and other fancy foods. He coughed. "Um, sorry…" He ran up to the battlefield. 

~~~

Lance, who was sitting with rest of the Elite Four in a reserved booth, looked to his teammates, puzzled. "Erm, just how much is the committee PAYING this guy?… "

"Yeah, really…" Bruno grunted. "This guy eats better than me…"

Agatha coughed. "Bruno, you spend most of your time training in the mountains… Go eat your dirt, twigs, and berries…"

"…Just shut up…"

Lance shook his fist violently, then pointed to the meal below. "I mean, just look at that!! I sure know that I didn't sign off on paying the referee enough to eat like a king!"

Bruno closed his eyes, then shrugged. "Don't look at me, I hate that lazy-ass… What happened to the other guy from the past couple of years?"

Lorelei just shook her head, and paid attention to the battle below…

~~~

"This is an Official Pokemon League match! Each trainer may use 3 Pokemon! Yeah…" the ref then walked back to his meal.

Giovanni scoffed, then grabbed a Pokeball. "Rhydon, go…" He released the Pokemon, which growled. 

"Ah…" Ash began. "A rock type… In that case, Wartortle, go!" 

"Wartortle!"

"Rhydon, use Horn Drill!" The rock Pokemon charged towards the turtle and hit him dead-on with it's horn. Wartortle flew back, but regained it's balance and skidded across the ground. 

Ash smirked. "Bell, let me tell you something… Do NOT judge me by my previous battles… I was simply playing with my previous opponents…"

Giovanni smiled. "Is that so?…"

"Yes… So let me show you what I can really do! Wartortle, Quick Attack!"

"A physical attack?… Poor choice! Rhydon, use Rock Throw!" Rhydon sent a few chunks of arena flying at Wartortle. 

"Wartortle!" Ash commanded. "Use the rocks to get yourself higher, then use Bubble Beam!" Wartortle complied, using a bit of leaping to jump from rock to rock. After reaching head height of Rhydon, he unleashed a barrage of bubbles, making Rhydon growl out in pain. 

Wartortle leaped down and smiled. "War! Tortle!"

Giovanni simply brought out a bottle of Super Potion and used it on Rhydon. "Rhydon, use Stomp…" The Rhydon then Stomp on Wartortle. Wartortle slowly got up. 

"Alright, now use Watergun, Wartortle!" Ash yelled out. The turtle nodded, then shot a stream of water at the rock monster. Rhydon fell to the ground. 

The ref ran up. "Rhydon is unable to battle! Trainer Ash wins the round!" The crowd cheered as Giovanni's first slot went out. Giovanni showed no reaction at all. 

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Odd, you think he would be a bit angry that he lost so easily…" he said to himself. Pikachu scratched his head, also a bit confused. "Well, knowing him, he is probably too clam to blow up like some people… Besides, this is just the first round… "

Giovanni grabbed another Pokeball. "Nidoking, go…"

Ash blinked. "Another ground-type? Are you serious?…"

"Nidoking, Fissure…" The ground began to shake, and it opened up below Wartortle. He fell through the fissure in the ground. 

"Wartortle, no!!" Ash recalled Wartortle. "That was close…" Ash glared at Giovanni. "What the hell was that all about?!"

Giovanni smirked. "What? It's an official attack, so there is nothing wrong with it… Besides, the fissure was only a few feet deep…"

"Wartortle is unable to battle! This round goes to Bell!"

Ash grabbed another Pokeball. "Alright… This is a long shot, but go Charizard!" The flying fire Pokemon stood there, arms crossed, and smirked. He growled lightly. Ash smiled. "Charizard, you ready for this?" 

Charizard simply replied in a thumbs up. 

"Charizard, try your Seismic Toss!"Charizard made a grab for Nidoking, but the poison Pokemon dodged his attack. Charizard huffed. 

"Nidoking, Bite." Nidoking ran towards Charizard, then bit him on the shoulder. Charizard pushed Nidoking away, and grabbed his injured shoulder. He glared. 

Ash growled. "Charizard, use Mega Punch!"

"Nidoking, use _your_ Mega Punch!" 

Both Pokemon used their powerful punches on each other, knocking them both backwards into the walls near the bleachers. 

"Charizard, use Mega Punch again!"

"Nidoking, you do the same…" 

The Pokemon reared up again, and unleashed the Mega Punch. This time, however, they both punched each others fists, and they did not give in to each other's punches. The resulting shock wave made the arena floor directly surrounding them shatter, sending rocks flying in every side, some debris even reaching the front of the audience. The audience shielded their faces from the rocks. Ash growled. '_Damn, if I am not careful, some innocent people are gonna get hurt…_' He watched as the two Pokemon continued to struggle against each other's fist. 

"Wow!" the announcer exclaimed in surprise. "What a battle so far! The tension just keeps rising! The force of these two Pokemon's punches have shattered the parts of the floor around them!"

~~~

Lance, still watching from the booth with the others, rubbed his chin in intrigue. "My, my, my… Ash certainly has grown since our last meeting… And he sure pumped up his Pokemon…"

~~~

Charizard and Nidoking both reared their fists back and grabbed a hold of the others hands. They continued to strain, and the ground around them continued to slowly erode under their weight and force. Nidoking smirked at Charizard. Charizard's eyes widened slightly at this action, but then smirked back. They now had respect for each other, and began to apply more force. The floor around them then dropped an entire foot in height. The crowd gasped. Finally, the trainer's gave new commands. 

"Charizard/Nidoking, keep a hold on him and use Fire Blast/Acid!!" they both commanded.

The two Pokemon unleashed both powerful attacks, and a big explosion occurred, scaring the audience a bit because of how big it was getting. Fortunately, it didn't get big enough to burn the audience. When the explosion subsided, the center of the arena had a 3 foot deep, 5 foot wide hole in it and both Pokemon were in bad shape. They were both burned by the explosion, and by the attacks. The struggled to get up, but it was a challenge.

Ash frowned sadly. "Charizard… C'mon, you can do it…"

Giovanni glared in anger at his Pokemon. "Come on, you stupid animal!! Get up and fight!"

"Hey, can't you see that they're tired?!"

"So what! Pokemon are fighting machines, a way of getting power in this world… That is all they are good for!"

"That is not true! While you can use Pokemon for fighting, they are also your friends, and you should love them!"

"My Pokemon did not get strong because I loved them, they got stronger because I demanded them. They are my fighters, and I am their master!"

"Well sorry, but I don't think that way! I love all my Pokemon!" Charizard, hearing this, got up and a lone tear of happiness ran down his face. "Charizard! Are you alright?…" Charizard looked back to Ash and gave him a weak thumbs up. "Still have a bit of fight left in you?…" Charizard nodded. "Alright then! Use Seismic Toss!" Charizard used his remaining strength to lift Nidoking, and lifted him up into the air. He spun him in a circle several times, then slammed him down onto the ground. Nidoking did not get up. 

The ref blinked, then slowly walked into the arena. "Nidoking is--is --is unable to b-b-battle… Trainer Ash wins this round!" The crowd was silent for a few seconds, then cheered even louder than before. 

"Oh my!!" the announcer screamed. "What a round! This will definitely go down in history as one of the greatest Pokemon Battles ever recorded! And each trainer still has at least one Pokemon at full health!!"

Giovanni smirked. Then he laughed. He laughed manically as he pulled out his final Pokeball for the battle. "This is the end of your Pokemon Journey, Ash Ketchum… And the end of your life…"

Ash's eyes widened. "What?…"

"Take a look for yourself… Feast your eyes on the most powerful Pokemon ever created…"

"Created?! You don't mean--"

Giovanni released his last Pokemon. A bright flash of light, and the Genetic Pokemon Mewtwo appeared on the field. The crowd gasped at the foreign looking Pokemon. 

"That's odd…" Professor Oak pondered. "I've never even heard of that Pokemon…"

"Holy shit!!" Gary screamed out. "That's the Pokemon!!! The one that I met at the Viridian Gym!"

"Mewtwo?…" Misty gasped.

"But… why?…" Brock asked.

Ash noticed the mind control device on Mewtwo. "That device is controlling him, isn't it?… Giovanni…" The crowd gasped in shock and surprise. People began to panic. 

"Yes…" the leader of Team Rocket replied. "Thanks to it, I have finally claimed my prize… And now I will claim your life…"

Narrator: _And now, the final battle, with Mewtwo released, seems to have fallen in Giovanni's favor… Has Ash's Pokemon Journey truly come to an end? Will Giovanni take over the world? Or will Ash come up with a plan? Find out next time!_

****

To Be Concluded!…

~~~~~

The suspense is killing ya, ain't it?… It isn't?… Well, forget you then… =P j/k! Seeya later!


	9. Journey's End, Journey's Beginning

A/N: And so, we arrive at the final chapter. I want to thank you all for joining me on this ride… I know that I am not a very good writer, but thanks for making me feel like I had at least _some_ talent… =P Anyway, I'm gonna miss writing this story. But it's either end it this week, or put it on hiatus until who knows when. So, it's goodbye for now… When I return from grounding, I will write a "Pokemon Next Movie" fic or something. The ending of this story may surprise you, though… So, bye for now! *waves sadly*

~~~~

Narrator: _When we last left our heroes, they had gathered at the Pokemon League after 5 years of separation! They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and Ash and Misty showed this to be true in the last couple of days! Poor Brock's heart is confused over whether his current crush, Liz, likes him they way he likes her! Jessie, James, and Meowth finally joined the side of good! And Ash has a deep, dark secret… Now, he is currently in a fight for his life against the leader of Team Rocket named Giovanni, and Mewtwo…_

Ash stared down at Mewtwo, who was currently controlled by Mewtwo. A shiver went down his spine as he realized what that Pokemon was capable of. "Charizard, return!" After recalling the dragon, he looked to Pikachu. "Pikachu, I know that the chances of us winning are slim to none, but we'll try our best!"

Pikachu hopped on down. "Pika!"

Giovanni grinned from ear to ear. "Yes, show me your fear… It makes sense that you should fear Mewtwo, especially because I have him under my control…" He raised his finger and pointed at Ash. "Mewtwo, Psychic…" Ash's eyes widened as Mewtwo quickly snapped his head towards Ash, and the podium he was standing on exploded. Smoke, dust, and dirt smothered the entire ring. People in the audience shielded their eyes. 

When the smoke cleared, Ash was on the ground in a bloody mess. Both of his shirts were completely destroyed, and his hat sat next to him, tattered. The crowd gasped. "Ash, no…" Misty managed to choke out in shock. Delia suddenly screeched out loudly, trying to jump into the battle. Fortunately, Tracey managed to hold her back. "Nooo!! Let me go, god damnit!!! My baby!! My poor Ash…" She sat down, put her heads in her hands, and began crying. Misty joined soon after. Then Brock cried out. Tears ran down Gary, Tracey, and Oak's faces. They looked down to the ground. 

Pikachu cried, and walked over to his friend's body. He nudged his body. "Pikapi…" Pikachu's eyes turned red and he began to shake violently. The cloud's above turned black. 

~~~

_Storm of Hatred and the Love that is Eternal!_

_A Journey Ends, then All Fades to White…_

~~~

The normally white clouds and blue sky turned black and gray. Pikachu's cheeks began to spark violently. The crowd was frightened, and even Giovanni became a bit more cautious. Ash, who was just barely alive, struggled to speak. He weakly and slightly raised his hand from the ground. "Pikachu… Don't do… It…" Ash then blacked out.

But it was all for naught. Pikachu was pissed. He wanted Giovanni and Mewtwo dead for hurting Pikapi. "Pika! Piiiiikaaaa!!!" A bolt of lighting flashed. 

Giovanni smiled. "So… Do you want me dead, little one?…" He laughed cruelly. "You know, I find that very funny… How far do you think you'll get with Mewtwo by my side… After you've exhausted all your energy, I'll just have him kill you, too!" 

"PIKAAAA!!!" Pikachu unleashed his attack, hitting Giovanni and Mewtwo's general area. Mewtwo put up his barrier. It made contact with Pikachu's Final Judgement. The attacks fought back and forth, until suddenly, there was an explosion as a huge lightning bolt made contact with something. A huge, almost blinding flash overtook the entire stadium. For several seconds, no one could see anything. People began to scream as if it was the end of the world. When the light subsided, Mewtwo and Giovanni were completely unharmed. Mewtwo then let his shield dissipate. He looked at the condition of the ring. It was completely destroyed, and people had evacuated during the storm. The unlucky few who didn't escape had their bodies strewn about. He then stared at the exhausted Pikachu. Pikachu panted heavily, then a lone tear rolled down his eye before he fell unconscious. '_Forgive me, Pikapi…_'

~~~

Ash seemed to awaken under a tree. He looked around and looked at himself. He was in his old clothes. Pikachu was sleeping next to him. The Pokemon also awoke. "Hiya, Pikapi!" Pikachu greeted cheerfully. 

Ash screamed. "Wah!! Pikachu! You can talk?!" 

"Um, not exactly… It appears we now have a Psychic link of some sort, and it is being initiated in this dream." Pikachu scratched his head.

"So… Everything that's happened today is real?…"

Pikachu nodded sadly. "Yes… I… I killed _people_ this time around, Pikapi!!! I'm so sorry!!" 

Ash hugged Pikachu. "It's okay, little buddy…"

Pikachu pushed away. "No, it's not okay! You must hate me now!! I'm awful!"

"Pikachu… You are my best friend… While what you did was wrong, what's done is done… And we cannot defeat Mewtwo at all… At least not in our current state…"

"We will still help you though--" began Ash's Pidgeot. He, along with all of Ash's Pokemon old and new, appeared before Ash. "--no matter what… We are all on our way… Just hang on, old friend…"

Ash began to cry for the first time in years. "You guys…"

Charizard spoke up. "Your love for us has linked us all together mentally. I may be badly injured, but I will not let you down the way I did a long time ago… I swear it…"

"And we'll be there, too…" a woman's voice said. It was Misty and the others in their old outfits, along with their Pokemon. Misty smiled softly. "Good luck… Dork…"

Gary grinned. "Go get 'em, loser…"

Brock and Oak gave stern nods. "We believe in you, Ash…"

"And I believe in you…" Delia smiled.

"We know you won't let us down…" Tracey said, giving a thumbs up. 

"T-thanks, you guys… I… I won't disappoint you!!"

~~~

Ash then awoke in the real world. His body felt like it was burning. It painfully and slowly stood up, looking around. He flinched at the smell of burnt human flesh, then panicked for his friends safety. He sighed in relief as he saw them running back towards the stadium, which had a huge hole in it. He glared at Giovanni and Mewtwo, then walked over to Pikachu's sleeping form. He picked the mouse up. 

Giovanni had an amused look on his face. "So, still alive?… I'm quite impressed… But what do you intend to do?"

Ash smirked. "I'm going to fight you…"

"And how do you propose to do that? Even if your Pokemon could somehow beat Mewtwo, they are in terrible shape!"

Ash listened as he heard the sound of Pokemon heading toward the stadium. " I'm gonna use ALL of my Pokemon…" Within a few minutes, every Pokemon Ash had ever caught was standing behind him. Also, trainers Ash had given, lent to or traded Pokemon too was standing behind him along with their other Pokemon. Not to mention the Pokemon that Misty, Brock, Gary, Tracey, and anyone else would bring with them. Ash smiled. "So even if you beat me, there _will_ be other trainers… We'll all fight you and wear you down…" Finally, the others arrived with their Pokemon.

Giovanni smiled, then laughed hysterically. "Oh yes, that is rich… Jessie! James! Capture this fools Pokemon, and I'll rehire you both and Meowth with top ranks!"

Jessie and James raised an eyebrow. "You really mean it?" Jessie muttered. 

James then crossed his arms. "Boss…"

Ash sighed. "I knew it…"

"… you can take that deal and shove it up your ass."

Ash blinked. '_Wow… James actually talked back?!_'

Giovanni frowned in disgust. "Well that's just a shame… Now die…" Mewtwo shot at them with a Psychic attack. Team J screamed, but a pink bubble appeared and bounced the attack harmlessly into the air. They sighed in relief.

"What the?!"

"Everyone!" Ash screamed. "Attack now!!!" All the Pokemon unleashed their most powerful attacks. Mewtwo blocked them all, but just barely. "Damn… We need just a little more power…"

"Mew?…" the pink, catlike Pokemon tilted it's head, then unleashed a powerful attack to boost the other Pokemon's power. Mewtwo was engulfed in a huge combo attack of all the Pokemon present. He was sent flying into the air, and hit the ground with a thud. The mind control device hit the ground a few feet away from him. 

Giovanni pounded his fist on his podium. He screamed out. "Nooo!! How could this have happened?! All that work… Gone…"

Ash smiled in joy and disbelief. He laughed, then blacked out again.

Suddenly, Liz ran up. "Brock!!"

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Liz? What are you doing here?!"

"Brock… I have something to tell you…"

"What is it? What happened?!"

"The… the flower turned red!" Everyone face faulted.

Brock got up, then looked at Liz. "As happy as I am to here that, right now is kind of inappropriate…"

~~~

"Ash?…" a soft voice called out. "Ash, wake up…"

Ash awoke to see Misty and his mother. He was in a hospital-like room. They both smiled. Mew was floating around them. Ash blinked, then flinched from pain. "What are you doing here?…"

"We wanted to see how you were doing…" Delia said softly.

"No… I mean Mew…" Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head. **_"Hello, funny hat person! Mew say hi!"_**

"Gyah! Oh, wait… Psychic link with Pokemon…"

**"Yep! Yep!"**

"So, what are you doing here?"

**"Mew have gift for you…"** Mew started to glow pink, then Ash's body began to glow. His wounds were slowly healed, then all of the wounds he had received in the battle were healed. Delia and Misty looked on in surprise.

Ash's eyes widened. _"Whoa, what the hell was that?!"_

**"A move called Soft-boiled. Only me and pink Chansey nurse can use it!"**

"Oh, so that's why Nurse Joy's use Chansey's_…"_

Mew nodded, then flew off. "Mew!"

Ash hopped up from the bed. "Yahoo! I feel great!"

"Ash!" Misty yelled. "Are you sure you're okay?!"

"Sure I am, Mist!"

Misty sighed. "Fine then… In that case, follow me…" Misty walked down the hallway.

"Um, okay…"

They walked down the hallway. Misty grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him into their room. She tossed the shocked Ash onto the bed. "Misty!"

"Ash, we haven't even talked in 3 days!"

"Was I out that long?!"

"Yes… Now I just want there to be some time for both of us… No Pokemon, no mess… Just us…"

Ash nodded. "Okay, Misty…"

Misty hopped on the bed, and caressed Ash's muscular and still scarred body. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Ash gave her a look. "What?!…"

Ash glared playfully. "One, that was a crappy kiss… Two, where is my hat…"

Misty growled. "Sometimes I hate that damn hat… It's in my drawer… And what do you mean, crappy?!" Misty screamed, smacking Ash with a pillow. 

"Hey, I was just kidding! But here…" Ash gave her a nice, long kiss with tongue. He then smiled. Misty smiled back. Ash then got a serious look on his face.

"What is it, Ash?…"

"Misty… I know that we've only been together for a few days, but--"

The door suddenly opened. It was Brock. "Hey, guys! A party is being held to celebrate Giovanni's capture, wanna come?" Brock suddenly realized his mistake. "Oops, sorry! Forgot to knock again…"

Misty frowned, then walked up to Brock. She got really close to his face, making Brock nervous. Then, she smiled. "It's okay!"

Brock sighed in relief.

~~~

At the party, Ash frowned. "Y'know, it doesn't seem right to party when all those people died…"

Misty blinked. "Yeah…"

Brock nodded, looking down at his punch. "Even though they are getting memorial services soon, it just doesn't seem right…"

Jessie and James were near the punch table. "James…"

"Yes, Jessie?"

"You were… really brave when you stood up to the boss…"

"Really?"

"Yeah… What you said was hilarious…. Wish I had said it myself!"

"Heh, heh…" James said, blushing. He fidgeted with the box in his pocket. 

Meowth took this opportunity to get involved. "Hey James, why don'tcha ya' give her whatcha got in ya pocket?! Heh heh heh…"

James flared. "Darn you, Meowth!! Stop making fun of me!! I'll give her it when I'm good and ready!!"

Jessie blushed. "Why James, is that bulge in your pants for me?…"

James blushed redder than a cherry. "Well um, yes… Ack!! But it's nit what you think it is and--" he yanked the box with the ring out of his pocket. He got down on on knee and proposed. "--Jessie, will you marry me?!"

The entire party stopped. Everyone stared at Jessie and James. Meowth snickered. 

Jessie smiled, tears flowing down her face. "James… Of course I will…"

"Yippy! Today is a good day!" James jumped into the air, clicked his heels together, but slipped on some spilt punch and hit his head. "Ow…"

~~~

Ash, Misty, Gary, Duplica, Brock, Tracey, and Casey were in the middle of an underage (besides Brock and Tracey who were already a bit drunk) game of 'I've Never'. The game had gone on for a few hours and they all learned a few things about each other that they did NOT want to know… Anyway, Ash and Misty had a little too much and decided to head off to their bedroom for the night…

~~~

Ash plopped Misty onto one of the beds and lay on top of her. "Misty, I love you…"

Misty giggled. "I know, you big dork… You've told me that several times today…"

"I know…" Ash's hand slipped under Misty's dress.

"Ash, what are you doing?…"

"If you want to stop, just say so…"

"… No, don't stop…"

Ash slipped his hand into Misty's panties. A few seconds later, Misty began to moan out. "Ash… Love me…"

"Anything for you, my love…"

Anyway, to keep the rating down, I'll leave what happens to YOUR imagination…

~~~

The next morning, Misty awoke in bed unclothed and aching a bit… She had a hangover and faint memories of what happened last night. "Oh Ash, you were so gentle…" She hugged herself in glee, then realized that she was alone. She thought Ash had went out somewhere, but noticed a piece of paper sticking out of Ash's hat. She picked up the hat. She read the note. '_I am sorry… I _can't_ stay here… Goodbye…'_ She had a look of hurt on her face which turned into anger. She quickly put on some clothes, ran out of the hotel, then stopped when she reached outside and saw that she had been too late. Ash was gone. Once again gone from her life, and she had no idea if he would be back or not. Misty suddenly felt warm tears running down her face like waterfalls. She tossed the hat on the ground, raised her head and screamed at the sky as if it would bring Ash back to her. "Ash, you…. IDIOT!!!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so, 10 years passed…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Samantha!" Misty screamed. "Get down here, now!! You're going to be late!!"

"My name isn't Samantha!! It's Sammy!!" a girl yelled from upstairs.

"Damnit, get down here or your name is going to be Grounded!"

"Eep! Coming!" The girl then ran downstairs. She had short, red hair that ended just above her ears and purple eyes. She was wearing pink 'feetie' pajamas and a band-aid on her forehead. "Yes, Mom?"

Misty frowned. She had her long hair in a pony tail. She was wearing a yellow t-shirt, jeans, and was currently washing dishes. "If you don't hurry, there aren't going to be any Pokemon left!"

"Oh! I'm late?!" Samantha smacked her head. "Shit!!"

Misty's eyes widened in shock. "Samantha! Watch your mouth! And where did you learn that?!"

"Um, Papa…"

Misty sighed heavily. "Oh, hoooneeey…"

"Um, yes sweetheart?…" a male's voice said.

"Get the hell down here!!"

The man timidly walked downstairs. He had ear length black hair in a ponytail. He was wearing a black tank top and blue pants. He smiled, his chocolate brown eyes sparkling. His most noticeable features were some scars on his face, and a raggedy 'Official Pokemon League' hat. "So, Mist… Um, what is it?…"

"Don't you 'what is it?' ME, Ash Ketchum! Why the hell are you cussing in front of our innocent little daughter, damnit!!!"

"Well so are you!!!"

"Oh… Well, I don't cuss as bad as you!!"

"Look, kids are always swearing… If they don't learn it from their parents, they'll learn it someplace else…"

"Well what kind of parent are you, with that kind of philosophy!"

Samantha frowned. She hated it when her parents fought. She always thought that it was her fault. She ran out of the house and went over to Professor Oak's. 

~~~

The city of Pallet Town hadn't changed much in the last decade. It was still that quiet little town that Ash and Gary had left all those years ago. Ash unfortunately had never won the Pokemon League, but he did become a quite famous Pokemon Psychologist. Because of his ability to mentally communicate with Pokemon, he decided to help troubled Pokemon and their trainers. He now has his own weekly television program called. "The Pokemon World According to Dr. Ketchum". 

Samantha ran up to the Pokemon Lab. "Professor Oak! Are you there?!" The door opened to reveal a tall man with short, greenish black hair, a lab coat, and glasses. "Oh, hi Tracey!"

"Hello there, Samantha!" Tracey greeted, waving down to her. "Professor Oak is in his lab. Follow me." They then walked through the building, where they met up with a man with brown spiky hair, and a black lab uniform. 

The man looked up from his work. "Oh! Hey there, squirt!"

"Hiya Professor Oak!" Samantha smiled, sticking her tongue out at him.

Professor Gary Oak ruffled her hair. "Such a cute kid…" he smiled. "So, come to get you Pokemon? Unlike your father, you made it just in time… I have one Pokemon left…" He handed her a Pokemon. 

"Oh, thank you!" She released the Pokemon from it's Pokeball. A Charmander appeared. 

"Charmander!" The tiny dragon-like Pokemon smiled.

"Aw, it's cute!" she was then hit in the face with a Flamethrower. "Owie…"

"Um…" Gary began. "It's a bit playful…"

"I see…" Samantha then fell to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten years earlier…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six months have passed since Ash left. During this time; Jessie and James were married, Brock moved in with Liz, and Gary took over as Pallet Town Professor. Misty was completely distraught by Ash's disappearance. She returned to Cerulean, but was never the same. She could hardly sleep, and began to eat less. Her friends tried to help her, especially since it would be bad for the baby. Sometimes, she would just stare at the ocean, and just think about her life. One day, however, she wasn't alone. 

"Mist?…" a voice called out.

Misty's eyes widened. "Ash?…" she turned around. Ash was standing there, back in the outfit he wore when he first returned. She walked over to him, caressed his face, then socked him. 

"Ow!… I deserved that, though…"

"Damn right, you deserved it! You left me with this child and abandoned me! You self centered bastard!!" 

"I know… Misty, I'm so sorry…"

Misty cried, then hugged Ash. "You had me so worried…"

"I know… After a while, I realized that what I was doing was what my father did… I didn't want to be like him, so I returned… And Misty, I will never leave you again… Never… I love you…"

"I love you too…"

They embraced, and stayed that way, watching the sunset on the ocean.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Momma! Papa!" Samantha yelled, walking in the front door. "I'm home!" She stepped into the house, but stepped on something. She looked down and screamed. On the floor, were her parents, Ash and Misty. She whimpered, got on her knees, and softly touched her parents cheeks. They were cold. She slowly got up, and realized that the knees of her pajama pants were stained in blood. She screamed out for her fallen parents. "No!!! Mama!! Papa!!"

Ash and Misty's hands were touching one another, their last act of love before they died. And so, their journey has come to an abrupt, early end… But their daughter's journey has just begun… 

**__**

The End, The Beginning…

~~~~

Sorry about the downer of the ending. But I didn't want a cliché 'happily ever after' type ending. Like it says at the end, this is not the actual ending. As I was writing these last few chapters, I came up with the idea of a spin-off involving the kin of Ash and Misty. I never originally thought of killing them, but everyone gets tired of happy endings after a while. So, keep an eye out for the sequel, Pokemon Next: Journey of Sorrow. Until then, this is Kouji Tamino signing off…


End file.
